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WASHINGTONIA^^. 

C O NT AI NI NG 

A Sketch of the Life and Death 

OF THE LATE 

($m, (George 'Wasljington : 



A COLLECTION OF ELEGANT 

EULOGIES, ORATIONS, POEMS, &c. 

SACRED TO HIS MEMORY. .,»«..««>=* -^ 
AN A P P E N Kfe-I A, 'V,^- '-^ 

COMPRISING ALL HIS MOST VALUAbYe %»#t-lC„ PAPERS, 
AND HIS LAST WILL AND TES' 



LANCASTER: 

Printed and Sold by William Hamilton, Franklin's Head, 

in West King-Street. 

1 80 2. 



-^N O T E- 



IN the arrangement of the Orations^ isfc. the Editors 
have not attempted to decide on their respective merits, nor 
to designate the post of honor. Thejr have been published 
in the order in ivhich they were collected. The late receipt 
of the few last, has inhibited the satisfaction of giving them 
an entire publication, 

F. Johnston J 

W. HAMILfON, 






NATIONAL TRIBUTE. 



IN the House of Representatives of the United States, De- 
cember 23, 1799, general Marshal made a report from the 
joint committee appointed to consider a suitable mode of com- 
memorating the death of general Washington. 

He reported the following resolutions, -which passed both 
houses unanimously : 

Resolved, By the Senate and House of Representatives of 
the United States of America, in Congress assembled^ That a 
marble monument be creeled by the United States at the Capi- 
tol of the city of Washington, and that the family of general 
Washington be requested to permit his body to be deposited 
under it, and that the monument be so designed as to comme- 
morate the great events of his military and political life. 

A}^D be it further resolved. That there be a funeral proces- 
sion from congress-hall to the German lutheran church, in me- 
mory of general George Washington, on Thursday the 26th 
instant, and that an oration be prepared at the rtquest of con- 
gress, to be delivered before both houses that day ; and that 
the president of the senate, and speaker of the house of repre- 
sentatives, be desired to request one of the members of con- 
gress to prepare and deliver the same. 

AuD be it further resolved., That it be recommended to 
the people of the United States, to wear crape on their left 
arm, as mourning, for thirty days. 

And be it further resolved, That the president of the 
United States be requested to direct a^P>y of these resolutions 
to be transmitted to Mrs. Washington, assuring her of the pro- 
found respedl congress will ever bear for her person and charac- 
ter, of their condolence on the late affefting dispensation of pro- 
vidence, and entreating her assent to the interment of the re- 
mains of general Washington in the manner expressed in the 
first resolution. 



vi NATIONAL TRIBUTE. 

j^i^i} be it further resolved, That the president of the 
United States be requested to issue his proclamation, notifying 
to the people throughout the United States, the recommenda- 
tioii contained in the third resolution. 



A PROCLAMATION, 

Sr THE PjiESIDENT OF THE UNIfED STAfES OF AMERICA. 



WHEREAS the Congress of the United States " in honor 
of the memory of general George Washington," have 
this day resolved, " that it be recommended to the people of the 
United States, to wear crape on the left arm, as mourning, for 
thirty days ;" and, " that the president of the United States 
be requested to issue a proclamation, notifying to the people 
throughout the United States the said recommendation." Non^y 
VBEREFORE, I, JOHN ADAMS, president of the United 
States, do hereby proclaim the same accordingly, 

GivFN under my hand and the seal of the United States, 
at Philadelphia, the tAventy-fourth day of December, in 
the year of our Lord, one thousand seven hundred and 
ninety-nine, and of the independence of the U. States 
the twenty-fourth. 

|k JOHN ADAMS. 

Bj the President^ 

Timothy Pickkring, Sec'ry of State. 



CONTENTS. 



Page. 

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH, - 9 

Tribute, by Doftor Aiken, - - 25 

Eulogium, by General Lee, '-^ - , - 27 

Major W. Jackson, ■*" - - 36 

S. Chaudron, - - 55 

Dodor Linn, - 72 

Fisher Ames, Esq. ; - - 89 

Hon. Gouverneur Morris, ' - 110 

William C. Frazer, Esq. - - 119 

Gunning Bedford, Esq. - 133 

John Vining, Esq, - - 155 

David Ramsay, M. D. - 162 

General Frelinghuysen, - - 181 

Charles Pinckney Sumner, - 192 

Samuel Bayard, Er|. - - 203 

William Griffith, Esq. - 215 

Rev. Rosewell Messenger, - - 226 

Rev. Samuel S. Smith, - 2S4. 

Capt. Samuel White, - - 260. 

David M'Keehan, Esq. - 267 

Rev. Dr. Robert Davidson, - 280 

John Davis, A. M. - - 286 

Rev. Uzal Ogden, - 293 

John Croes, A. M. - - 501 

Doaor E. C. Dick, - 504 

, Lewis Fontanes, - - 305 

Chara£\er of General Washington, from a London 

paper, _ _ . 307 

Portrait of General Washington — by IVW Chastelleaux, 310 

Sxetch of General Washington, from Brissott's Tra- 
vels in North America, - - - 311 

Extracl from an Elegiac Poem—By Charles Cald- 
well, A. M. M. D. - - - 312 

Extradl from a Poem — by Richard Alsop, - 316 

Tribute, by Mr Paine, of Massachusetts, - ~ , 319 



Tiii CONTENTS. 

Page. 

Lines, from a London paper, - - - 319 

On the death of General Washington, from a late 

London paper, - - _ 320 

APPENDIX. 

Gen. Washington's Circular Letter to the Governors 

of the several States, - 1 

Farewell Address, to the Armies 

of the United States, - 12 

Address to the People of the U. 
States, on his retiring 
from Public Life, - - 17 

Letter to the President of the 
United States, on accept- 
ing the appointment of 
Commander in Chief, - 34 

Last Will and Testament, - 37 

Address of the Officers of the Army of the United 

States, to Congress, December 1782, - 60 

Gen. Washington's Letter to Congress, relative to 

the celebrated Anonymous Letters, - - 63 

First Anonymous Letter, - - - 64 

Second, ditto, - - - 68 

Gen. Washington's Speech to the Officers, relative 

to the Anonymous Let- 
ters, - - - 70 
Letter to the President of Con- 
gress, on the same subjedl, - 75 



SKETCH 

OF THE LIFE OF 



<§m, tTOasiiingtott. 



THIS illustrious charafter, the second son by a second mar* 
riage of Augustine Washington, was born on the 
1 1th of February, 1732, in the county of "Westmoreland, in the 
state of Virginia. His ancestors removed from Yorkshire, in En- 
gland, about the year l657, and settled in America. The par- 
ticular objcfts of his juvenile studies, were, a critical know- 
ledge of grammar, mathematics, particularly surveying, of which 
he became the most elegant and correct master ; geography, his- 
tory and iirtLural and moral philosophy. 

In the year 1753 the French and Indians having committed 
depredations on our defenceless frontiers, along the Allegheny 
and Ohio rivers, the governor of Virginia, solicitous of for- 
warding a remonstrance on this subjedl, to the commander in 
chief of the enemies forces, and of preventing farther inroads 
on our settlements, used every precaution to find a proper cha- 
radler for this purpose, when our American hero, at that time 
not 21 years of age, inspired with true fortitude, offered his 
voluntary services on this hardy and perilous enterprize ; and, 
after having executed the important duties required of him, 
with great promptitude and sagacity, returned to Virginia, 
where he received the sincerest congratulations, and warmest 
thanks, of the governor and council ; and, as a mark of the 
high estimation in which they viewed his talents and merit, was 
appointed a major, and also adjutant -general of the Virginia 
.troops. Two years after he became colonel of a regiment of 
Virginians- and, although not yet 23 years old, displayed the 
greatest address and valor, by marching into the western coun- 
try, in the most inclement season, under difficulties that none 

B 



10 $kp:tch of the life of 

but a Washington could have surmounted — and there for a con- 
siderable time maintained a war against the French and Indians, 
whose force exceeded his at least three times in number ; and, 
finally, after a severe and bloody conflift, defeated them. 

The enemy being soon after reinforced with a number of 
fresh troops, reduced the gallant Washington, after a defence 
which evidenced the most unexampled bravery, to capitulate ; 
on terms, however, highly honorable. He quitted the fort at 
the head of his troops with the honors of war, and carried with 
him all his military stores and baggage. Soon after, the unfortu- 
nate Braddock, by his zeal and impetuous valor, was led into 
an ambuscadd, in which he not only lost his own life, but the 
greater part of his army were either slain or put to flight — the 
remnants of which the military genius and address of colonel 
Washington, who, upon this melancholy occasion afted as a 
voluntary aid, soon rnlliprl, nnrl brought off in perfedl safety, 
although under a pressure of perhaps the most imminent danger 
that ever presented itself. He was the only otiitcr on horse- 
back who was not either killed or wounded. 

The ensuing campaign being crowned with success, rendered 
it no longer necessary for him to continue his military pursuits ; 
he, therefore, retired to the walks of private life, where he con- 
tinued until after a lapse of about twenty years. During this pe- 
riod he filled many of the most important offices, in the execution 
of which he was celebrated for his promptitude, accuracy and 
integrity. In the year 1759 he married the present Mrs. Wash- 
ington, then the amiable and beautiful widow Custisj with a 
fortune of thirty thousand pounds sterling. 

In the year 1774 our first congress, composed of the most 
illustrious charadlers, were assembled to devise such plans as 
•would be likely to secure our liberties, now threatened by the 
powerful hand of Great-Britain. In this dignified assembly he 
contributed essentially in pointing out the wise measur<;s, which 
•were adopted by that honorable body. The fatal blow having 
at length been struck by Great-Britain, it became immediately 
necessary to raise an army for our defence, at the head of which 



GENERAL WASHINGTON. 1 1 

the undaunted Washington was placed without disunion of vote 
or even a competition. 

In 1775 at Cambridge he entered upon the duties of his dig- 
nified and important station of commander In chief — and here 
the eloquence of man would be too feeble to describe the ardu- 
ous task he had undertaken, in order to introduce discipline into 
his new raised army, to obtain from them any effective services, 
to supply them with arms and ammunition, with provisions, 
with clothing and other essential necessaries ; in short, to make 
them assume, even in a small degree, the appearance of an army 
fit to contend with the veteran bands of Great-Britain. Early 
in 1776 the British army, which he had for sometime confined 
within the narrow limits of the town of Boston, were, in a great 
measure, by his consummate prudence, reduced to the humiliat- 
ing necessity of evacuating that place. In consequence of this 
event he not only received a moat flattering- and affedlionate ad- 
dress from the people of Massachusetts, but also the most dis- 
tinguished mark of esteem from congress, viz. a medal struck 
with appropriate emblems to perpetuate its remembrance^ 

His next positions were New- York and Long-Island, where 
difficulties pressed upon him much greater than those he had 
experienced at Boston. His army was composed of some regu- 
lar troops, and an undisciplined militia. In opposition to which 
were 30,000 of the best troops Great-Britain could boast of, 
seconded by the most powerful navy in the world. Thus cir- 
cumstanced, like the famous Fabius, he confined himself to a 
defensive war ; — he held a post as long as he could, and then 
retreated to some more favorable position ; and thus by delaj 
obtained that conquest which he could not wrest from the ene- 
mies hands by active force. This prudent system of retreat 
drew much clamor and invedlive upon him from the malevolent, 
time-serving, little politicians of the day, some of whom even 
dared to doubt that courage and decision, ample proofs of which 
he has since so often manifested, during his military career .- 
but his prudential and sound policy ; nay, his genuine magna- 
nimity, submitted to these approbrious insinviations, whereby 
he not only concealed from the enemy the real situation of his 



13 SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF 

army, but also prevented the country from being overwhelmed 
with a general panic. In the autumn of 1776 the British troops 
having been generally successful in all their enterprizes against 
our feeble force, pursued our retreating army into the state of 
New-Jersey, under the strongest conviclion, that they would 
soon reduce it to perfect submission ; and indeed this event was 
the more to be apprehended, as the whole garrison of Fort Wash- 
ington on the Hudson river, was about this time made prison- 
ers of Avar. Immediately succeeded the retreat of the flying 
camp and several militia corps, whose times of enlistment were 
expired, and who respedlively claimed their discharge. The 
whole army of general Washington now consisted of about 
3000 men, without blankets, shoes, tents, or necessary supplies 
of any kind. Under these discouraging circumstances what was 
to be done ? The wise, the persevering Washington. coudu£led 
this little but virtuous band across the DelaAvare into Penn- 
sylvania, pursued by an ciiciuy clvttctl -with success and pressing 
hard on his rear. In this junfture of our affairs many prose- 
lytes were made, who joined the royal standard ; among whom 
were some distinguished characters from New- Jersey and Penn- 
sylvania. The spirit of the country, for the first time, began 
to flag, and serious doubts were entertained by many, as to our ob- 
taining the objedl of our wishes, independence. Washington, 
notwitlistanding, stood firm and unshaken. The state of Penn- 
sylvania, whose metropolis was daily threatened by the enemy, 
made a feeble but well-timed exertion by marching 2000 of the 
flower of her militia to head-quarters. With this detachment 
and the small force already at camp, the general's undaunted 
spirit conceived the bold and enterprizing idea of recrossing the 
Delaware and attacking the Hessians, then encamped near Tren- 
ton. On the memorable 26th of December, 1776, propitious 
heaven crowned the hazardous undertaking with complete suc- 
cess. Their commanding officer was slain, and one thousand 
killed, wounded and made prisoners. Immediately after suc- 
ceeded one of the most brilliant achievements of general Wash- 
ington's life. The consummate address, courage and enterprize^ 
which he displayed in silently retiring, under cover of the night, 
from the face of a powerful enemy, and attacking, many miles 
in their rear, a strong detachment posted at Princeton, and en* 



GENERAL WASHINGTON. J 5 

tirely routing them, with the loss of many hundreds killed, 
•wounded and made prisoners, will ever be recorded, In grateful 
remembrance, in the hearts of his countrymen, and will like- 
wise be considered as one of the most prominent features of his 
military fame. 

With undeviating perseverance, the wise and prudent V^ash- 
ington pursued his old system of policy, " that of avoiding ge- 
neral adlions," as much as possible ; whereby he was not only 
enabled to encrease his own army, but prevented that of the 
enemy under Sir William Howe from obtaining possession of 
Philadelphia, the metropolis of America, until late in the fall 
of the year 1777 — a year in which his military prowess was not 
less conspicuous than in any other. On the field of Brandywine 
a variety of fortuitous circumstances prevented his success. At 
the battle of Germantown he made a vigorous impression upon 
the enemy, which must unavoidably have crowned him with 
glory had his orders been stridly executed. On the 18th day 
of June, 1778, Sir Henry Clinton, with his army, evacuated the 
city of Philadelphia, and on the same day crossed the Delaware 
into the state of New-Jersey. General Washington, apprized 
of his movements, collecled his whole force, and after perform- 
ing the most rapid and fatiguing marches, in a very sultry sea- 
son, overtook the enemy at a place called Freehold, on Mon- 
mouth, in the state of New-Jersey, on the 28th of the same 
month, where he gave them battle. 

Upon this occasion general Washington displayed more than 
his usual coolness, courage and knowledge of military taclics, 
in the disposition which he made for a general attack. A va- 
riety of circumstances, not now necessary to be related, com- 
bined in preventing his obtaining a complete vi£\ory, and pro- 
bably of making the whole British army prisoners of war. He 
however succeeded so far as to kill some hundreds of the enemy, 
and with his army lay on the field of battle the ensuing night. 

In Oftober 1781 the military career of general Washington 
was rendered still more illustrious by the capture of Lord Corn- 
wallis and his whole army at York-town, in the state of Vir- 



M Sketch OF THE LIFE OF 

ginia. This brlUlant and conclusive military operation was ef- 
fedcd by the combined armies of France and the United States. 
In the year 1783 the peace, liberty and independence of the 
country being acknowledged and secured, our beloved general 
presented himself before congress, and returned into their hands 
that authority which he had received from them, and which he 
had so successfully exercised in conducing their armies through 
the war. But as this grand and majestic scene cannot be so 
well delineated as through the medium of his own words, we 
here subjoin his resignation and the answer of the president of 
congress upon that memorable occasion. 

December 23cf, 1783. 
According to order, his excellency the commander in chief 
was admitted to a public audience, and being seated, the presi- 
dent, after a pause, informed him, that the United States in 
congress assembled, were prepared to receive his communica- 
tions ; whereupon he arose and addressed congress as follows— 

" Mr. PRESIDENT, 

*' The great events on which my resignation depended hav- 
ing at length taken place, I have now the honor of offering my 
sincere congratulations to congress, and of presenting myself 
before them, to surrender into their hands the trust committed 
TO me, and to cUiim the indulgence of retiring from the service 
of my country. Happy in the confirmation of our independ- 
ence and sovereignty, and pleased with the opportunity afforded 
the United States, of becoming a respeftable nation, I resign 

v/ith satisfadion the appointment I accepted with diffidence a 

diuklence in my abilities to accomplish so arduous a task ; which, 
however, was superceded by a confidence in the redlitude of our 
cause, the support of the supreme power of the Union, and th© 
patronage of heaven. The successful termination of the war 
has verified the most sanguine expedations ; and my gratitude 
for the interposition of Providence, and the assistance I have 
received frpm my countrymen, encreases with every review of 
the momentous contest. 

" While I repeat my obligations to the army in general, I 
should do injustice to my own feelings not to acknowledge, in 



GENERAL WASHINGTON. IS 

this place, the peculiar services and distinguished merits of 
the gentlemen who have been attached to my person during the 
war. It was impossible the choice of confidential officers to 
compose my family should have been more fortunate. 

" Permit me, Sir, to recommend In particular, those who have 
continued in the service to the present moment, as -worthy of 
the favorable notice and patronage of congress. 

" I consider it an indispensible duty to close this last a<fl of 
my official life by commending the interests of our dearest coun- 
try to the protedion of Almighty God, and those who have the 
superlntendance of them to his holy keeping. 

" Having now finished the work assigned me, I retire from 
the great theatre of adlion, and bidding an affedionate farewel 
to this august body, under whose orders I have so long acled, 
J here offer my commission, and take my leave of all the em- 
ployments of public life." 

To which the president returned the following ansiver : 

*' SIR, 

*' The United States in congress assembled, receive, -with 
emotions too affedling for utterance, the solemn resignation of 
the authorities. under which you have led their troops, through 
a perilous and a doubtful war. Called upon by your country 
to defend its invaded rights, you accepted the sacred charge be- 
fore it had formed alliances, and whilst it was without , funds 
or a government to support you. You have condu<Sled the great 
military contest with wisdom and fortitude, invariably regard- 
ing the rights of the civil power through all disasters and changes. 
You have, by the love and confidence of your fellow-citizens, 
enabled them to display their martial genius, and transmit their 
fame to posterity. 

" You have persevered, 'till these United States, aided by a 
magnanimous king and nation, have been enabled, under a just 
Providence, to close the war In/reedom, safety and independence ; 



16 SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF 

on which happy event, we sincerely join you in congratulations. 
Having defended the standard of liberty in this new world; 
having taught a lesson useful to those who inflidl and to those 
who feel oppression, you retire from the great theatre of a£lion, 
with the blessings of your fellow-citizens — but the glory of 
your virtues will not terminate with your military command- 
it will continue to animate remotest ages. 

" We feel with you our obligations to the army in general, 
and will particularly charge ourselves with the interests of those 
confidential officers, who have attended your person to this af- 
fecling moment. We join you in commending the interests of 
our dtaiest country to the prote£lion of Almighty God, beseech- 
ing him to dispose the hearts and minds of its citizens, to im- 
prove the opportunity afforded them, of becoming a happy and 
respeiftable nation. And for you we address to him our earnest 
prayer, that a life so beloved may be fostered with all his care ; 
that your days may be happy as they have been illustrious ; and 
that he will finally give you that reward which this world can- 
not give." 

Our Illustrious hero, Clncinnatus like, Immediately returned 
to his farm at Mount- Vernon, expecting there to spend the re- 
mainder of his days, and determined that no public employment 
should thereafter draw his attention from his favorite pursuit, 
agriculture. With inexpressible delight, he laid aside his mi- 
litary habit and assumed the simple garb of a plain Virginia 
planter. Having enjoyed himself but a few years in this sweet 
retireitient, and his country finding it impossible to secure ei- 
ther peace, liberty, or independence , under the then inefficient go- 
vernment, again required his services as a member of the grand 
convention of the different states, of which that illustrious body 
unanimously elet^ed him president. 

Soon after, the new constitution framed by this assembly, 
was adopted by the several states, and general Washington una- 
nimously appointed the executive officer by the name of presi- 
dent, which important trust he accepted with diffidence and re- 
luctance, wishing for no farther honors, and desirous of spend- 



GENERAL WASHINGTON. It 

lag his close of life in peace and retirement. Nothing but the 
ardency of his afFedions for his country could have induced 
him again to appear on the theatre of public life, Avhich the fol- 
lowing elegant and original letters of his own will evince. 

April 16, 1789. 
To the major, corporation and citizens of Alexandria. 

GENTLEMEN, 

Although I ought not to conceal, yet I cannot describe 
the painful emotions which I felt, on being called upon to de- 
termine, whether I would accept or refuse the presidency of the 
United States. • The unanimity in the choice — the opinion of 
my friends, communicated from different parts of Europe as 
well as America — the apparent wish of those who were not en- 
tirely satisfied with the constitution in its present form, and an 
ardent desire, on my part, to be instrumental in conciliating 
the good will of my countrymen towards each other, have in- 
duced an acceptance. Those who know me best, and you, my 
fellow-citizens, are from your situation in that number, know 
better than any others, my love of retirement is so great, that 
no earthly consideration, short of a convidlion of duty, cuuld 
have prevailed upon me to depart from my resolution, " never 
more to take any share in transadiions of a public nature." For 
at my age, and in my circumstances, what possible advantages 
could I promise to myself, from embarking again in the tempes- 
tuous and uncertain ocean of public life. 

I DO not feel myself under the necessity of making public 
declarations, in order to convince you, gentlemen, of my at- 
tachment to yourselves and regard for your interests. The whole 
tenor of my life has been open to your inspeftion ; and my past 
actions, rather than my present declarations, must be the pledge 
for my future conduiSt. In the meantime, I thank you most 
sincerely for the expressions of kindness contained in, your va- 
ledldory address. It is true, just after having bid adieu to my 
domestic connexions, this tender proof of your friendship is 
but too well calculated still farther to awaken my sensibility, 
and encrease my regret at parting from the enjoyments of pri- 
vate life. All that now remains for me, is to commit myself 

G 



18 SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF 

and you to the protedlion of that beneficent Being, who on a 
former occasion, hath happily brought us together, after a long 
and distressing separation. Perhaps the same gracious Provi- 
dence will again indulge us with the same heart-felt felicity. 

But words, my fellow-citizens, fail me. Unutterable sen- 
sations must then be left to more expressive silence, while from 
an aching heart, I bid you all, my affedionate friends, and kind 
neighbors, farewel. 

(Signed) G° : WASHINGTON. 

Answer of the president of the United States., to an address 
from the citizens of Baltimore, on his ivaj to New-York, dated 
. 17th April, 1789. 

GENTLEMEN, 

The tokens of regard and affection which I have often re- 
ceived from the citizens of this town, were always acceptable, 
because I believed them always sincere. Be pleased to receive 
my best acknowledgments, for the renewal of them on the pre- 
sent occasion. If the affeftionate partiality of my fellow-citi- 
zens, has prompted them to ascribe greater elFefts to my condudl 
and charader, than were justly due, I trust the indulgent sen- 
timent on their part, will not produce any presumption on mine. 
I cannot now, gentlemen, resist my feelings so much, as to 
withhold the communication of my ideas, respeding the adual 
situation of our national affairs. It appears .that little more 
than common sense, and common honesty in the transadlions of 
the community at large, would be necessary to make us a happy 
nation. For, if the general government, lately adopted, shall 
be arranged and administered in such a manner as to acquire 
the full confidence of the American people, I sincerely believe 
they will have greater advantages from their natural, moral and 
political circumstances, for public felicity, than any other peo- 
ple ever possessed. 

In the contemplation of these advantages, now soon to be 
realized, I have reconciled myself to the sacrifice of my fondest 
wishes, so far as to enter again upon the stage of public life. 



GENERAL WASHINGTON. 19 

I know the delicate nature of the duties incident to the part 
■which I am called to peiform ; and I feel my incompetence, with- 
out the singular assistance of Providence, to discharge them in a 
satisfadtory manner. But having undertaken the task/rom a 
sense of duty, no fear of encountering difficulties, and no dread 
of losing popularity, shall ever deter me from pursuing what I 
conceive the true interest of my country. 

(Signed) ■ G** : WASHINGTON. 

This sense of duty, and steady attachment to the true inter- 
ests of his country, were conspicuous through the whole of his 
administration — an administration worthy of universal imita- 
tion, being illustrious for its wisdom and justice, for its mild- 
ness and lenity, for its order apd economy, for its virtue and 
piety. 

In council as in camp general Washington shone with unri- 
valled lustre. Under the new government a new order of things 
was to follow, and wisdom and political skill were necessary to 
put the vast machine into motion. With a just and Impartial 
expression of the gratitude his country felt towards those who 
had served her during the revolutionary war, he filled tiie offices 
directed by the constitution — and by his efforts the general boun- 
ties of the government were early distributed, through every 
part of the Union. The distresses of a long and destructive 
war were remembered no more — the benefits of commerce and 
agriculture — of peace and harmony, became the common pos- 
session of all. 

The storm that had long been gathering, now burst forth, 
and France, shook to her centre by internal broils, plunged her- 
self and Europe in one common destruftlve contest. Every 
energy of our Washington was now called into acllon. Diffi- 
culties and dangers crowded on every side — but difficulties 
and dangers were to him only subjeiEls for new successes, and 
his conduct once more saved his country. Unbiassed by preju- 
dices, uninfluenced by political attachments, unmoved by the 
opposition of a deluded mass of his countrymen, he determined 
on neutrality. Peace, wealth and happiness have been the 



20 SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF 

attendants cf that measure, while a ruinous war, poverty and 
misery must have followed a contrary conduct. 

On the 17th day of September, 1796, general Washington, 
in the character of president, addressed the people of the United 
States, announcing his intention of retiring from public life ; 
which event soon after took place, and once, more he returned 
to his beloved and calm retreat, at Mount- Vernon. He now 
entertained a well grounded hope that no interruption would 
break in upon his " present peaceful abode." The condufl, 
however, of the direiSlory of France towards our country, in- 
deed their manifest hostility to our government, soon rendered 
it necessary to increase the present and raise ^Lprovisional^xmy—' 
at the head of which the president of the United States, with 
the advice and consent of the senate, placed our beloved Wash- 
ington on the 11th of July, 1798. On the 14th of Decem- 
ber in the following year, the melancholy and momentous pe- 
riod arrived, when his relations and his country were at once 
bereaved of their dearest Jriend and safest guide^ 

By the report of his physicians, it appears that " having been 
exposed to a rain on the preceding day, general Washington 
was attacked with an inflammatory affeclion of the upper part 
of the windpipe, called in technical language cynache tracbcalis. 
The disease commenced with a violent ague, accompanied with 
some pain in the upper and fore part of the throat, a sense of 
stri£lure in the same part, a cough, and a difficult, rather than 
a painful deglutition, which were soon succeeded by fever and 
a quick and laborious respiration. The necessity of blood-let- 
ting suggesting itself to the general, he procured a bleeder in 
the neighborhood, who took from his arm in the night twelve or 
fourteen ounces of blood. He could not by any means be pre- 
vailed on by the family to send for the attending physician 'till 
the following morning, who arrived at Mount-Vernon at about 
1 1 o'clock on Saturday. Discovering the case to be highly 
alarming, and foreseeing the fatal tendency of the disease, two 
consulting physicians were immediately sent for, who arrived, 
one at half after three, and the other at four o'clock in the af- 
ternoon : in the mean time were employed two pretty copious 



GENERAL WASHINGTON. 21 

bleedings ; a blister was applied to the part afFefted, two mode- 
rate doses of calomel were given, and an injedlion was admi- 
nistered, which operated on the lower intestines, but all with- 
out any perceptible advantage, the respiration becoming still 
more difficult and distressing. Upon the arrival of the first of 
the consulting physicians, it was agreed, as there were yet no 
signs of accumulation in the bronchial vessels of the lungs, to 
try the result of another bleeding, when about thirty-two ounces 
of blood were drawn, without the smallest apparent alleviation 
of the disease. Vapours of vinegar and water were frequently 
inhaled ; ten grains of calomel were given, succeeded by re- 
peated doses of emetic tartar, amounting in all to five or six 
grains, with no other efFeft than a copious discharge from the 
bowels. The powers of life seemed now manifestly yielding 
to the force of the disorder ; blisters Avere applied to the extre- 
mities, together with a cataplasm of bran and vinegar to the 
tliroat. Speaking, which was painful from the beginning, now 
became almost imprafticable ; respiration grew more and more 
contrafted and imperfedl, 'till after 1 1 on Saturday night, re- 
taining the full possession of his intelledl — when he expired 
without a struggle. 

" He was fully impressed at the beginning of his complaint, 
as well as through every succeeding stage of it, that its conclu- 
sion would be mortal ; submitting to the several exertions made 
for his recovery, rather as a duty, than from any expe£lation of 
their efficacy. He considered the operations of death upon his 
system as coeval with the disease ; and several hours before his 
death, after repeated efforts to be understood, succeeded in ex- 
pressing a desire that he might be permitted to die without far- 
ther interruption. 

" During the short period of his illness, he economized his 
time, in the arrangement of such few concerns as required his 
attention, with the utmost serenity; and anticipated his ap- 
proaching dissolution with every demonstration of that equani- 
mity for which his whole life has been so uniformly and singu- 
larly conspicuous." 



22 SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF 

*' His fame, bounded by no country, "will be confined to no 
age," — is the eulogy even of a stranger, across the atlantic ; 
with whose elegant and truly pathetic description of general 
Washington's virtues, we Avill conclude this short sketch of 
his life. 

" Genkral Washington was, we believe, in his 68th year. 
The height of his person was about five feet eleven ; his chest 
lull ; and his limbs, though rather slender, well shaped and mus- 
cular. His head was small, in which respeft he resembled the 
make of a great number of his countrymen. His e^'es were of 
a light blue colour ; and, in proportion to the length of his face, 
his nose was long. Mr. Stewart, the eminent portrait painter, 
used to say there were features in his face totally different from 
what he had ever observed in that of any other human being ; 
the sockets for the eyes, for instance, were larger than what he 
ever met with before, and the upper part of the nose broader. 
All his features, he observed, were indicative of the strongest 
passions; yet, like Socrates, his judgment and great self-com- 
njand have always made him appear a man of a diflerent cast 
in the eyes of the world. He always spoke with great diffi- 
dence, and sometimes hesitated for a word ; but it was always 
to find one particularly well adapted to his meaning. His lan- 
guage was manly and expressive. At levee, his discourse with 
strangers turned principally upon the iubjecl of America ; and 
if they had been through any remarkable places, his conversa- 
tion was free and particularly interesting, for he was intimately 
icc|uaint5;d with every part of the country. He was much more 
open and free in his behavior at levee, than in private, and in 
the company of ladies still more so than when solely with men. 
Few persons ever found themselves for the first time in the pre- 
sence of general Washington, without being impressed with a 
certain dt-gree of veneration and awe ; nor did those emotions 
subside on a closer acquaintance ; on the contrary, his person 
and deportment were such as rather tended to augment them, 
llie hard service he had seen, the important and laborious of- 
fices he had filled, gave a kind of austerity to his countenance, 
and a reserve to his manners : yet he was the kindest husbandj 
the most humane master, the steadiest friend. The whple range 



GENERAL WASHINGTON. 23 

of history does not present to our view a characler upon which 
we can dwell with such entire and unmixed admiration. The 
long- life of general Washington is not stained by a single blot* 
He was indeed a man of such rare endowments, and such for- 
tunate temperament, that every action he performed was equally- 
exempted from the charge of vice or weakness. Whatever he 
said or did, or wrote, was stamped with a striking and peculiar 
propriety. His qualities were so happily blended and so niceJy 
harmonized, that the result was a great and perfedl whole. The 
power of his mind and the dispositions of his heart were admi- 
rably suited to each other. It was the union of the most con- 
summate prudence with the most perfeiV moderation. His views 
though large and liberal were never extravagant : his virtues, 
though comprehensive and beneficent, were discriminating, ju- 
dicious and praclicdl. 

"Yet his characler, though regular and tiniform, possessed 
none of the littleness which may sometimes belong to these d-e* 
scriptions of men. Jt formed a majestic pile, the efFeil of which 
-was not impaired but improved by order and symmetry. There 
was nothing in it to dazzle by wildness, and surprise by eccen- 
tricity. It was of a higher species of moral beauty. It con- 
tained every thing great and elevated, but it bad no false and 
tinsel ornament. It was not the model cried up by fashion and 
circumstance : its excellence was adapted to the true and just 
moral taste, incapable of change from the varying accidents of 
manners, of opinions and times. General Washington is not' 
the idol of a day, but the hero of ages ! 

*^ Placed in circumstances of the most trying diiFiculty at 
the commencement of the American contest, he accepted that 
situation which was pre-eminent in danger and responsibility. 
His perseverance overcame every obstacle ; his moderation con- 
ciliated every opposition ; his genius supplied every resource; 
his enlarged view could plan, revise and improve every branch 
ot civil and military operation. He had the superior courage 
which can aft, or forbear to act, as true policy dldates, care- 
less of the reproaches of ignorance, either in power or out of 
power. He knew how to coHquer by waiting, in spite of ob- 



2-i SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF 

loquy, for the moment of vi£lory ; and he merited true praise 
hy despising undeserved censure. In the most arduous moments 
of the contest, his prudent firmness proved the salvation of the 
cause which he supported. His condudl was, on all occasions, 
guided by the most pure disinterestedness. Far superior to low 
and grovelling motives, he seemed even to be uninfluenced by 
that ambition, which has justly been called the instindl of great 
souls. He adled ever as if his country's welfare, and that alcne, 
was the moving spring. His excellent mind needed not even 
the stimulus of ambition, or the prospeA of fame. Glory was 
but a secondary consideration. He performed great aftions ; he 
persevered in a course of laborious utility, with an equanimity 
that neither sought distinftion, nor was flattered by it. His 
reward was in the consciousness of his own redlitude, and in 
the success of his patriotic efforts. As his elevation to the 
chief power was the unbiassed choice of his countrymen, his 
exercise of it was agreeable to the purity of its origin. As 
he had neither solicited nor usurped dominion, he had neither 
to contend with the opposition of rivals, nor the revenge of 
enemies. As his authority was undisputed, so it required no 
jealous precautions, no rigorous severity. 

" His government was mild and gentle ; it wasbeneficient and 
liberal ; it was wise and just. His prudent administration con- 
solidated and enlarged the dominion of an infant republic. 

" Involuntarily resigning- the magistracy which he had fil- 
led with such distinguished honor, he enjoyed the unequalled 
satisfaction of leaving to the state he had contributed to esta- 
blish, the fruits of his wisdom and the example of his virtues. 

** It is some consolation, amidst the violence of ambition and 
the criminal thiist of power, of which so many instances occur 
around us, to find a charader whom it is honorable to admire, 
and virtuous to imitate — a conqueror for the freedom of hIS 
country I a legislator for its security I a magistrate for its hap- 
piness ! His glories were never sullied by those excesses into 
which the highest qualities are apt to degenerate. With the 
greater, t virtues he was exempt from the corresponding vices. 



GENERAL WASHINGTON. 25 

He was a man in whom the elements were so mixed, that *' na- 
ture might have stood up to all the world" and owned him as 
her work. His fame, bounded by no country, -will be confined 
to no age. The character of general Washington, which his 
cotemporaries regret and admire, will be transmitted to poste- 
rity ; and the memory of his virtues, while patriotism and vir- 
tue are held sacred among men, will remain undiminished." 



Tribute by doctor AlKEif* 

Point of that pyramid, whose solid base 
Rests firmly founded on a nation's trust, 
Which, while the gorgeous palace sinks in dust, 

Shall stand sublime, and fill its ample space : 

£Iei^ed chief of freemen ! — greater far 

Than kings, whose glittering parts are fix'd by birth ; 

Nam'd by thy country's voice for long try'd worth. 
Her crown in peace, as once her shield in war ! 

Deign, Washington, to hear a British lyre, 
That ardent greets thee with applausive lays, 
And to the patriot hero homage pays. 
O, would the muse immortal strains inspire. 
That high beyond all Greek and Roman fame, 
Might soar to times unbornj thy purer, nobler name 1 



THE 

WASHINGTONIANA. 



ORATIONS. 

funeral oration on the death of general JVashinct'oWj dc- 
Ihered in Philadelphia, at the request of congress ; — By ma- 
jor-general HWNRr Lee, member of congress from Virginia, 

IN obedience to your * -will, I rise, your humble organ, with 
the hope of executing a part of the system of public mourn- 
ing which you have been pleased to adopt, commemorative of 
the death of the most illustrious and most beloved personage 
this country has ever produced ; and which, while it transmits 
to posterity your sense of the awful event, faintly represents 
your knowledge of the consummate excellence you so cordially 
bonor* 

Desperate indeed is any attempt on earth to meet corres- 
pondently this dispensation of heaven : for, while with pious 
resignation Ave submit to the will of an all-grar'^us Providence, 
tve can never cease lamenting in our finite view of Omnipotent 
Wisdom, the heart-rending privation for which our nation weeps. 
When the civilized world shakes to its centre ; when every mo- 
ment gives birth to strange and momentous changes ; Avhen our 
peaceful quarter of the globe, exempt as it happily has been 
from any share in the slaughter of the human race, may yet be 
compelled to abandon her pacific policy, and to risk the doleful 
casualties of war : What limit is there to the extent of our 
loss ? None within the reach of my words to express ; none 
-which your feelings will not disavow. 

The founder of our fcederate republic — our bulwark in war, 
our guide in peace, is no more. Oh that this was but question- 
able ! Hope, the comforter of the wretched, would pour into 
* The two bouses of congress. 



28 WASHINGTONIANA. 

our agonized hearts its balmy dew. But, alas ! there is no hope 
fcr us : our Washington is removed forever. Possessing the 
stoutest frame, and purest mind, he had passed nearly to his 
sixty-eigth year, in the enjoyment of high health, when, ha- 
bituated by his care of us to negleft himself, a slight cold, dis- 
regarded, became inconvenient on Friday, oppressive on Satur- 
day, and defying every medical interposition, before the morn- 
ing of Sunday put an end to the best of men. An end did I 
say — his fame survives ! bounded only by the limits of the earth, 
and by the extent of the human mind. He survives in our 
hearts, in the growing knowledge of our chlldftn, in the af- 
fedlion of the good throughout the world ; and when our mo- 
numents shall be done away ; when nations now existing shall 
be no more ; when even our young and far-spreading empire 
shall have perished, still will our Washington's glory unfaded 
shine, and die not, until love of virtue cease on earth, or earth 
itself sinks into chaos. 

How, my fellow-citizens, shall I single to your grateful hearts 
his pre-eminent worth 1 Where shall I begin in opening to your 
view a charafter throughout sublime. Shall I speak of his war- 
like achievements, all springing from obedience to his coun- 
try's will — all dired^ed to his country's good ? 

Will you go with me to the banks of the Monongahela, to 
see your youthful Washington, supporting, in the dismal hour 
of Indian vidlory, the ill-fated Braddock, and saving, by his 
judgment and by his valor, the remains of a defeated army, 
pressed by the conquering savage foe ? Or, when, oppressed A- 
merica nobly resolving to risk her all in defence of her vio- 
lated rights, he was elevated by the unanimous voice of con- 
gress to the command of her armies : Will you follow him to 
the high-grounds of Boston, where to an undisciplined, coura- 
geous and virtuous yeomanry, his presence gave the stability of 
system, and infused the invincibility of love of country : Or 
shall I carry you to the painful scenes of Long-Island, York- 
Island and New-Jersey, when combating superior and gallant 
armies, aided by powerful fleets, and led by chiefs high in the 
roll of fame, he stood the bulwark of our safety ; undismayed 



WASHINGTONIANA. 29 

bv disaster ; unchanged by change of fortune. Or wHl you 
view him in the precarious fields of Trenton, where deep gloom 
unnerving every arm, reigned triumphant through our thinned, 
worn down, unaided ranks : himself unmoved. — Dreadful was 
the night ; it was about this time of winter. The storm raged — 
the Delaware rolling furiously with floating ice forbad the ap- 
proach of man. Washington, sclf-colle(Sled, viewed the tre- 
mendous scene — his country called ; unappalled by surrounding 
dangers, he passed to the hostile shore : he fought ; he con- 
quered. The morning sun cheered the Americaa world. Our 
country rose on the event ; and her dauntless chief pursuing his 
blow, completed in the lawns of Princeton, what his vast soul 
had conceived on the shores of Delaware. 

Thence to the strong grounds of Morris-town he led his 
small but gallant band; and through an eventful winter, by the 
high efforts of his genius, whose matchless force was measura- 
ble only by the growth of difficulties, he held in check formi- 
dable hostile legions, condutled by a chief experienced in the 
art of war, and famed for his valor on the ever-memorable 
heights of Abraham, where fell Wolfe, Montcalm, and since 
our much-lamented Montgomery ; all covered with glory. In 
this fortunate interval, produced by his masterly condud, our 
fathers, ourselves, animated by his resistless example, rallied 
around our country's standard, and continued to follow her be- 
loved chief, through the various and trying scenes to which the 
destinies of our union led. 

Who is there that has forgotten the vales of Brandy wine— . 
the fields of Germantown, or the plains of Monmouth ; every- 
where present, wants of every kind obstructing, numerous and 
valiant armies encountering, himself a host, he assuaged our 
sufferings, limited our privations, and upheld our tottering re- 
public. Shall I display to you the spread of the fire of his soul, 
by rehearsing the praises of the hero of Saratoga, and his much 
loved compeer of the Carolinas ? No ; our Washington wears 
not borrowed glory : To Gates — to Greene, he gave without re- 
serve the applause due to their eminent merit ; and long may 



so V/ASHINGTONIANA. 

the chiefs of Saratoga, and of Eutaws, receive the grateful 
respeft of a grateful people. 

Moving in his own orbit, he imparted heat and light to his 
most distant satellites ; and combining the physical and moral 
force of all within his sphere, with irresistible weight he took 
his course, commiserating folly, disdaining vice, dismaying trea- 
son and invigorating despondency, imtil the auspicious hour ar- 
rived, when, united with the intrepid forces of a potent and 
magnanimous ally, he brought to submission the since conqueror 
of India ; thus finishing his long career of military glory with 
a lustre corresponding to his great name, and, in this, his last 
ad of war, affixing the seal of fate to our nation's birth. 

To the horrid din of battle sweet peace succeeded, and our 
•virtuous chief, mindful only of the common good, in a moment 
tempting personal aggrandizement, hushed the discontents of 
growing sedition, and surrendering his power into the hands 
from which he had received it, converted his sword into a plough- 
$hare, teaching an admiring world that to be truly great, you 
must be truly good. 

Was I to stop here, the picture would be Incomplete, and 
the task imposed unfinished — Great as was our Washington in 
war, and much as did that greatness contribute to produce the 
American republic, it is not in war alone his pre-eminence stands 
conspicuous : his various talents, combining all the capacities! 
of a statesman with those of the soldier, fitted him alike to 
guide the councils and the armies of our nation. Scarcely had 
he rested from his martial toils, while his invaluable parental 
advice was still sounding in our ears, when he who had been our 
shield and our sword, was called forth to ad a less splendid but 
a more important part* 

Possessing a clear and i penetrating mind, a strong and a 
sound judgment, calmness and temper for deliberation, with in- 
vincible firmness and perseverance in resolutions maturely formed, 
drawing Information from all, afling from himself, with incor- 
ruptible integrity and unvarying patriotism : his own superiority 



WASHINGTONIANA. 31 

and the public confidence alike marked him as the man designed 
bv heaven to lead in the great political as well as military event* 
which have distinguished the a;ra of his life. 

The finger of an overruling Providence, pointing at Wash'- 
ington, was neither mistaken nor unobserved ; when to realize 
the vast hopes to which our revolution had given birth, a change 
of political system became indispensible. 

How novel, how grand the speftacle ! independent states 
stretched over an immense territory, and known only by com- 
mon difficulty, clinging to their union as the rock of their safety, 
deciding by frank comparison of their relative condition, to rear 
on that rock, under the guidance of reason, a common govern- 
ment, through whose commanding protedlion, liberty and order, 
with their long train of blessings, should be safe to themselvesj 
and the sure inheritance of their posterity. 

This arduous task devolved on citizens selefted by the peo- 
ple, from knowledge of their wisdom and confidence in their 
virtue. In this august assembly of sages and patriots, Wash- 
ington of course was found — and, as if acknov/ledged to be most 
wise, where all were wise, with one voice he was declared their 
chief. How well he merited this rare distindion, how faithful 
were the labors of himself and his compatriots, the work of theif 
hands and our union, strength and prosperity, the fruits of that 
work> best attest* 

But to have essentially aided in presenting to his countrjij 
this consummation of her hopes, neither satisfied the claims of 
his fellow-citizens on his talents, nor those duties which the pos- 
session of those talents imposed. Heaven had not infused intQ 
his mind such an uncommon share of its atherial spirit to re- 
main unemployed, nor bestowed on him his genius unaccompa- 
nied with the corresponding duty of devoting it to the common 
good. To have framed a constitution, was shewing only, with- 
out realizing the general happiness. This great work remained 
to be done, and America, stedfast in her preference, with one 
ifoicc sumjjipned her beloved Washington, unpradised as he was 



32 WASHINGTONIANA. 

in the duties of civil administration, to execute this last aft Irt 
the completion of the national felicity. Obedient to her call, 
he assumed the high office with that self-distrust peculiar to his 
innate modesty, the constant attendant of pre-eminent virtue. 
What was the burst of joy throuoli our anxious land on this ex- 
hilerating event is known to us all. The aged, the young, the 
brave, the fair, rivalled each other in demonstrations of their 
gratitude ; and this high wrought delightful scene was height- 
ened in its tffedl, by the singular contest between the zeal of 
the bestowers and the avoidance of the receiver of the honors 
bestowed. Commencinf^ his administration, what heart is not 
charmed with the recoUedVion of the pure and wise principles 
announced by himself, as the basis of his political life. He 
best understood the indissoluble union between virtue and hap- 
piness, between duty and advantage, between the genuine max- 
ims of an honest and magnanimous policy, and the solid rewards 
of public prosperity and individual felicity : watching with an 
equal and comprehensive eye over this great assemblage of com- 
munities and interests, he laid the foundations of our national 
policy in the unerring, immutable principles of morality, b?.sed 
on religion, exemplifying the pre-eminence of free government, 
by all the attributes which win the afFeftions of its citizens or 
command the respeft of the world. 

" fortunatos nimium, sua si bona norint !'* 

Leading through the complicated difficulties produced by 
previous obligations and conflicting interests, seconded by suc- 
ceeding houses of congress, enlightened and patriotic, he sur- 
mounted all original obstruAions, and brightened the path of 
our national felicity. 

The presidential term expiring, his solicitude to exchange 
exaltation for humility returned, with a force encreased with 
increase of age, and he had prepared his farewel address to his 
countrymen, proclaiming his intention, when the united inter- 
position of all around him, enforced by the eventful prospers 
of the epoch, produced a farther sacrifice of inclination to duty. 
The eletSlion of president followed, and Washington, by the 
unanimous vote of the nation, was called to resume the chief 



WASHINGTONIANA. Sa 

magistracy : what a wonderful fixture of confidence ! Which, 
attrafts most our admiration, a people so corred, or a citizen 
combining an assemblage of talents forbidding rivalry, and sti- 
fling even envy itself? Such a nation ought to be happy ; such 
a thief must be forever revered. 

o 

War, long menaced by the Indian tribes, now broke out ; and 
the terrible conflidt deluging Europe *with blood, began to shed 
its baneful influence over our happy land. To the first, cut- 
stretching his invincible arm, under the o.rders of the gallant 
Wayne, the American eagle soared triumphant through dis- 
tant forests. Peace followed vidory, and the melioration of 
the condition of the enemy followed peace. God-like virtue 
which uplifts even the subdued savage. 

To the second he opposed himself. New and delicate was the 
conjunfture, and great was the stake. — Soon did his penetrat- 
ing mind discern and seize the only course, continuing to us all 
the felicity enjoyed. He issued his proclamation of neutrality. 
This index to his whole subsequent conduft, was san£lioned by 
the approbation of both houses of congress, and by the approv- 
ing voice of the people. 

To this sublime policy he inviolably adhered, unmoved by 
foreign intrusion, unshaken by domestic turbulence. 

" Justum et tenacem propositi virum 
" Non civium ardor prava jubentium, 
" Nan vultus instantis tjranni 
" Mente quatit solida." 

Maintaining his pacific system at the expence of no duty, 
America faithful to herself and unstained in her honor, conti- 
nued to enjoy the delights of peace, while afflifted Europe mourns 
in every quarter, under the accumulated miseries of an unex- 
ampled war ; miseries in which our happy country must have 
shared, had not our pre-eminent Washington been as firm ia 
council as he was brave in the field. 



S4 WASHINGTONIANA. 

Pursuing stedfastly his course, he held safe the public hap-- 
piness, preventing foreign war, and quelling internal discord, 
'till the revolving period of a third eledlion approached,, when 
he executed his interrupted but inextinguishable desire of re- 
turning to the humble Avalks of private life. 

o 

The promulgation of his fixed resolution, stopped the anxi- 
ous wishes of an affeftionarte people, from adding a third unani- 
mous testimonial of their unabated confidence in the man so 
long enthroned in their hearts. When, before, was aiFedlion 
like this exhibited on earth ? — Turn over the records of antient 
Greece — review the annals of mighty Rome, — examine the vo- 
lumes of modern Europe ; you search in vain. America and 
her Washington only afford the dignified exemplification. 

• The illustrious personage called by the national voice in suc- 
cession to the arduous office of guiding a free people, had new 
difficulties to encounter: the amicable effort of settling our dif- 
ficulties with France, begun by Washington, and pursued by 
his successor in virtue as in station, proving abortive, America 
took measures of self-defence. No sooner was the public mind 
roused by prospeft of danger, than every eye was turned to 
the friend of all, though secluded from public view, and grey- 
in public service : the virtuous veteran, following his plough, * 
received the unexpected summons with mingled emotions of in- 
dignation at the unmerited lU-ireatment of his country, and of 
2 determination once more to risk his all in her defence. 

The anniinclatlcn of these feelings, in his affecting letter to 
the president accepting the command of the army, concludes 
his official conduct. ' 

First in war — first in peace — and first in the hearts of his 
countrymen, he was second to none in the humble and endear- 
ing scenes of private life ; pious, just, humane, temperate and 
sincere ; uniform, dignified and commanding, his example was 

* Gtneral Washington^ though opulent^ gave much of his time 
and attention to practical agriculture. 



WASHINGTONIANA. S5 

■as edifying to all around him, as were the effefts of that exam- 
ple lasting. 

To his equals he was condescending, to his inferiors kind, and 
to the dear objeft of his affeftions exemplarily tender : correft 
throughout, vice shuddered in his presence, and virtue always 
felt his festering hand ; the purity of his private charafter gave 
effulgence to his public virtues. 

His last scene comported with the whole tenor of his life. — 
Although in extreme pain, not a sigh, not a groan escaped him ; 
and with undisturbed serenity he closed his well spent life. — 
Such was the man America has lost — such was the man for whom 
■our nation mourns. 

Methinks I see his august image, and hear falling from 
his venerable lips these deep sinking words : 

" Cease, sons of America, lamenting our separation : go 
•on, and confirm by your v/isdom the fruits of our joint coun- 
cils, joint efforts, and common dangers : Reverence religion, 
diffuse knowledge throughout your land, patronize the arts and 
sciences ; let liberty and order be inseparable companions ; con- 
trol party spirit, the bane of free governments ; observe good 
faith to, and cultivate peace vath, all nations ; shut up every 
avenue to foreign influence ; contract rather than extend na- 
tional connexion ; rely on yourselves only : be American in 
thought, word, and deed. Thus will you give immortality to 
that union, which was the constant objeil of my terrestrial la- 
bors ; thus will you preserve undisturbed to the latest posterity 
the felicity of a people to me most dear, and thus will you sup- 
ply (if my happiness is now aught to you) the only vacancy in 
tht round of pure bliss high heaven bestows," 



36 WASHINGTONIANA. 

Eulogium on the character of general WAsniUGfovi ; pronounced 
before the Pennsylvania society of the Cincinnati. By major 
William Jackson, aid-de-camp to ihe late president of the 
United States, and secretary-general of the Cincinnati, 

TO consecrate the memory of illustrious men — to record 
their adlions — and to celebrate their praise, has been the 
laudable pradice of every age, aqd the grateful duty of every 
peoplb. 

The rudest nations have thus dispensed the rewards and the 
motives of virtue — while the arts and sciences of polished so- 
ciety have contributed their noblest efforts to this, their best> 
and highest application, 

CoN^FORMiNG to this venerable usage, and influenced by all 
the nobler affe£tions, the veteran associates of the immortal 
Washington have dedicated this auspicious day, to the review 
of his glorious atchievements, and the celebration of his unri- 
valled fame. 

But their too partial choice has devolved on incompetent 
powers, the performance of that duty, to which the highest or- 
der of genius would have been unequal, 

"Who shall delineate a just portrait of that charafter, which 
vras perfedl in all its relations — or in what language shall the 
story of that life be told, whose every adion was above all 
praise ? 

To confer the just meed of eulogium on this inestimable cha-r 
rafter — to entwine the blended glories of the hero and the states- 
man with them to mingle the milder radiance of religion and 

^Tiorals, would require an inspiration, not only of those senti- 
ments, which pervade every class of men in this extensive na- 
tion but of those opinions, which his unequalled worth ha? 

impressed throughout the world, 



WASHINGTONIANA. 37 

Of legislators, to whose labors and honors he was associated 
by all that was useful and dignified. 

Of armies, to whom he was endeared by every obligation of 
gratitude and glory. 

Of a people, by whom he was regarded as their father, guide 
and prote<Stor. 

Of the holy ministers of religion, by whom he was beloved 
(and admired. 

Of his enemies in war, by whom he was at once dreaded and 
revered. 

Of the wise and just of all nations, of whom he was the or- 
nament and the example. 

In contemplating this necessary subdivision of the panegyric, 
which I am called to pronounce, this most respectable audience 
will be led to indulge a candor, proportioned to the magnitude 
of the subjeft, and the powers of the organ, to whom the ar- 
duous duty has been confided. 

The suffrages, perhaps the prejudices, of mankind, have con- 
curred in assigning to the profession of arms, the first station 
in the ranks of glory. 

On the present occasion, however, the decision is of no im- 
portance. 

The hero, whom we now commemorate, was alike pre-emi- 
nent in council, and in the field. The olive and the laurel had 
equally contributed their honors to form the chaplet of his re- 
nown. 

It is only, therefore, in the order of his distinguished ser- 
vices, that our attention is first attracfted to his military career. 



58 WASHINGTONIANA. 

Nor is it the less interesting, that the first display of his bril- 
liant genius in war, should have been made in concert with the 
troops of that nation, whose banners he was hereafter to brave — • 
and whose legions he was destined to encounter in the defence 
of his country, and in the maintenance of her freedom and in- 
dependence. 

Equally interesting is the singular fa<Sl, that a parent's fond 
solicitude had been the happy instrument of preserving him to 
that country, and to the high destination of his future honors — 
for, impelled by the martial disposition of his mind, he was about 
to engage in the naval service of Great-Britain at the infant age 
of fifteen years. But, restrained by filial affedtion, he yielded 
to the anxious entreaties of his mother, and relinquished the 
obje£l of his choice. 

Who does not bless the memory of this tender mother ! who 
does not reverence the piety of her exalted son I 

Thus was the stupendous fabric of his fame placed on the 
everlasting ba'is of virtue : and thus were the immense advan- 
tages, which flowed to his country, derived from the purest 
source of a private duty. 

SuMJioNED to the lists of glory at an age, when talents are 
iniaidtd by experience, and when the ardor of youth is but lit- 
tle tempered by the rules of prudence, he formed, in his first 
essay in arms, a rare example of the most heroic valor, com- 
bined with the most consummate skill. 

The one was exerted to stem the torrent of viftory obtained 
- by a vjndidHvc foe : the other was employed to rescue from ruin 
the devoted remnant of an unfortunate army. 

AoMiRtNG veterans resigned to the youthful warrior the pro- 
teftion of their discomfited troops, and committed to his supe- 
rior judgment the condu<Sl of a retreat, which covered him with 
glory, and wreathed his brow with the laurel of success. 



WASHINGTONIANA. 29 

The brave, but unhappy Braddock, expired in the anguish of 

defeat the gallant and sympathizing Washington was consoled 

by the safety, and honored with the applause of his surviving 
firiendi. 

The high promise, which was here given of a vast capacity 
for war, was nobly realized in the command and guidance of 
those armies, by whose aftive valor and inflexible fortitude, the 
liberties and sovereignty of the United States were maintained 
and established. 

In that eventful moment, when representation and remon- 
strance had been exhausted — when the alternative of resistance 
alone remained to an injured"Beople — when every hazard was 
preferred to abjecl submissiolT — and when that people had re- 
solved to meet their parent-state in arms. 

To whose care Avas the palladium of their liberties entrusted ? 
On whom did the unanimous choice of their enlightened repre- 
sentatives, devolve the daegerous honor of condu6ling thk last, 
this dread appeal ? 

To the virtue, the wisdom, the valor, and the fortitude, off 
your immortal Washington — to the hero, who was at once the 
sword and buckler of his country, was the momentous trust 
confided. 

To him was assigned the defence of our hearths and our al- 
tars — the prote£lion of our women and children — and the pre- 
servation of all that was dear to freemen, our national honor. 

IIow well, how faithfully, the sacred trust was discharged, 
let the splendid and important scenes of seven years conflict pro- 
claim to an admiring world ! 

Impressed by a perfect sense of the high responsibility at- 
tached to his exalted station — and conscious of the pre-eminence 
in toil and danger, to which he was called, he yielded implicit 
obqdience to the summons — and, resigning the utmost enjoy- 



40 WASHINGTONIANA. 

ment of domestic felicity, he was solely devoted to those duties, 
■which involved the safety and hippiness of his country. 

Repairing to the immediate theatre of military operation, 
in the vicinity of Boston, he instantly communicated, to the 
patriotic bands of New-England, that spirit of confidence, which 
was the result of his presence, and that observance of order, 
which was essential to efFeilive force. 

The extraordinary spe£lacle was exhibited of a veteran army 
invested by the hasty levies of a people, whom it had been sent 
to coerce, and of that army indignantly expelled the land, 
which it had been commissioned to subdue. 

This great event, which was to some the termination of 
their toil, and the period of their danger, was to him but the 
renewal of equal labors, the commencement of more anxious 
cares. 

The invading army, strengthened by a vast accession of 
force, and supported by a powerful marine, resumed its opera- 
tions ; and, under leaders of distinguished bravery and talents, 
extended its menace to the entire subjugation of our country. 

Success, correspondent to these immense preparations, was 
for a season obtained. 

The firm, but unavailing, efforts of our intrepid chief were 
restrained to defensive measures. Yet the hopes of America 
were reposed on that skilful policy, wnich he adopted to protra£t 
the war — and on that consummate prudence, by which he gave 
to defence the highest advantages, of which it was susceptible. 

The retreat from Long-Island, which excited the astonish- 
ment, and extorted the praise of his enemy, will pass to poste*- 
rity as a consummation in the art of war. 

While the vi(f\orious enterprize of Trenton, and the suc- 
tessful attack at Princeton, will be commemorated as the resto- 



WASHINGTONIANA. 41 

ration of public confidence, and the rescue of our declining 
cause. 

■ Where is the war-worn soldier, whose ebbing pulse does not 
beat high at these remembrances ! 

Where is the emulous and gallant youth, who does not thence 
anticipate his own atchievements in his country's cause ! 

Advancing to meet the incursion of a powerful army, he 
encountered their force at the Brandywine — where his gallant 
troops, though confident in the conduct, and animated by the 
example of their heroic leader, were compelled to resign, to dis- 
cipline and numbers, the hard-won honors of the field. 

Repulsed, but not dismayed, he was soon in a capacity to 
resume the oiFensive — and deeply impressing the energies of hia 
charadler, and displaying the vast resources of his mind, in the 
battle of Germantown, he unnerved the plans of subjugation, 
and invigorated the hopes of his country. 

The movements of the main army of the enemy were arrested 
by the formidable position, which was occupied by our skilful 
chief — .and their farther attempts were limited to the partial ope- 
ration of detachments. 

In assaulting the entrenched post at Red Bank, the German 
troops, led by the gallant Donop, were repulsed with dreadful 
slaughter, and their wounded leader was left a prisoner on the 
field. 

The god-like Washington dispatched, from his camp, an of- 
ficer to assure him of his personal concern, and to offer every 
attention which his situation might require. He was evea 
charged with the care of his removal, if it should be desired, 
within the British lines. 

The profonnd sensibility of the hostile chief was expressed 
in the following message— 

F 



42 WASHINGTONIANA. 

5' Convey, Sir, to general Washington, the deep impression 
of my gratitude — iny situation admits not, at this time, of a 
personal acknowledgement — but the first moments of my reco- 
very, should such be the will of heaven, shall be devoted to 
place before him the homage of my heart." 

Where is the testimonial of equal impression with the praise 
of a dying enemy 1 

What powers of eulogy can hope to reach the pathos of such 
praise I 

The British army, alarmed for its safety in an untenable po- 
sition, prepared to concentrate its force, and to re-occupy the 
post of New-York. 

The strenuous efforts of the American chief to engage a 
battle, and to intercept their retreat, were .rendered abortive 
by an error in the conduft of a subordinate attack, at the plains 
of Monmouth, which enabled the British general to accomplish 
his purpose. 

Passing to the last scene of our military drama, we are cal- 
led to contemplate, on this great occasion, the vast and various 
powers, by which the hero of our country was distinguished. 

Wisdom to conceive — prudence to conceal— judgment to di- 
Tcdi — and valor to execute a plan of operations, the most im- 
portant in its consequences, which the annals of war can furnish, 
Tvere eminently exemplified in the whole train of measures, by 
•which the investment and capture of the British army, at York- 
town, were formed and atchieved. 

The limits of this discourse do not admit a recital, which 
would include the varied incidents of the revolutionary war. 

Compelled to abridge the enumeration of events, I have 
endeavored to give to the most prominent points of aftion, dis- 
tinguished by the presence of our gallant chief, such illustra- 



WASHINGTONIANA. 43 

tion as might mark the progress of the contest, and tend to de- 
signate the vrisdom and vigor of that condudl, by which the ope- 
rations of our armies were direfted, and the hopes of our coun- 
try were completely realized. 

It is with regret, as it is of necessity, that I pass, in sum- 
mary relation, the judicious instruftions issued to subordinate 
commands and detachments — the unremitting exertions, by 
which the organization and discipline of a new-formed army 
were efFeded — the anxious cares, by which that army was sup- 
plied — the sublime influence, by Avhich it was continued in acn 
tive service, through the rigor of the most inclement seasons, 
and under the pressure of discouragement, which the mind shud- 
ders to review. 

On these topics, the delighted historian will dilate with in- 
creasing praise — and instru^ed posterity will dwell with grati- 
tude and pride. 

At the approach of peace an occasion arose, in which the 
best faculties of his superior mind were summoned to their ut- 
most exertion — and in which the feelings of his heart were to 
meet in strong collision with the dictates of his judgment, and 
a paramount sense of public duty. 

That army, by whose unshaken fidelity, and invincible for- 
titude, the glory and fortunes of America had been upheld, in 
all the vicissitudes of the war, was on the eve of dispersion. 

Those faithful comrades, in honor and misfortune, were to 
separate forever, under the most affliding circumstances of in- 
dividual adversity. 

To their country they had secured the blessings of peace, and 
the boon of independence — and to every class of their fellow- 
citizens a full participation in those blessings, enhanced by the 
enjoyment of that property, which, in their proteAed avoca- 
tions, they had been enabled to preserve or to acquire. 



41 WASHINGTONIANA. 

To the disbanded veteran, in the decline of life, was opened 
the cheerless prospeft of extreme penury, aggravated, in many 
instances, by wounds and inability to labor. His honor and 
his arms, " the instruments of his glory," were all that he pos- 
sessed. 

Maimed and disfigured by'honorable scars, he was become 
a stranger in the place of his nativity — and he was no longer 
remembered by the companions of his early years. His long- 
left home was in the cccupanry of another, and his future abode 
was only certain to be Wretched. 

While oppressed by these sensations, and assailed by the an- 
gry passions, which their situation excited, the army were in- 
vited, by every consideration, which the most sedudlive persua- 
sion could suggest, to redress their wrongs, and resent the aL 
ledged ingratitude of their country. 

Argument and eloquence were exhausted to efFedt the adop- 
tion of this fatal advice. 

To counteraft the dangerous measure — to preserve inviolate 
the honor of his troops, and the safety of his country, the wis- 
dom and firmness of the virtuous Washington were immediately 
interposed. 

With his heart wrung by the sufferings of the army-i-with 
his mind deeply affected by the counsel, which had been offered 
to remedy their grievances — conscious of their merits, and no 
less sensible to the inability of the country to fulfil its spipula- 
tions — he convened his officers — and presenting himself as me-r 
diator between the distresses of the troops, and the public inca-r 
pacity, at that time, to relieve them — he addressed himself to 
their judgment, their honor, and their patriotism. 

His opinions, framed on the irresistible conclusions of truth, 
and urged with all the force of reason and sentiment, weie in- 
stantly adopted — and the sublime speftacle was exhibited of 
<' an army vidlorious over its enemy,' — vidorious over itself." 



WASHINGTONIANA. 45 

In the last exercise of his military fun£lions, the social inte- 
rests of his country engaged bis benevolent attention, and a so- 
licitude to promote her political prosperity, employed the reflec- 
tions of his patriotic mind. 

Addressing to the executives of the several states an affec- 
tionate farewel, he unfolded to their view the matured lescons 
of experience, in a system of advice, eminently calculated to 
advance the happiness of their constituents — and worthy to be 
transmitted, in indelible charadlers, to distant posterity. 

Thus was the splendid strud^ure of his military charafter 
completed — and thus was reared, to the glory of confederated 
America, an evtr-enduring monument of the purest patriotismi 
and tlie most important public services. 

The rights of his country m.aintained — her independence ac- 
knowledged — the complaints of his meritorious, suffering army 
appeased — and his high trust, in all Its relations, sacredly ful- 
filled, he appeared before the great council of the nation, to claim 
the indulgence of retirement, and to resign the authority, with 
•which he had been invested, 

A MORE august scene has never been displayed. The triumph 
of virtue and freedom was complete. He retired, amid the bles- 
sings and applause of grateful millions, to the shade of private 
life, and to the enjoyment of that domestic felicity, from which, 
during eight years of anxiety, toil and danger, he had been de- 
tained by an abstradted devotion to public duty. 

However desirous to call your attention to the useful, the 
virtuous and exemplary tenor of his private life ; yet the rapid 
succession of public events, which scarcely permitted him to 
repose from the toils of war, obliges me to refer this interest- 
ing topic to a subsequent part of the discourse. 

The voice of his country, to which he was ever obedient, 
was again raised to call him from his tranquil and happy retire- 
nient. 



46- WASHINGTONIANA. 

That frame of government, wliich, in a period of danger, 
and under the pressure of foreign hostility, had been sufficient 
to consolidate the interests, and to educe the resources of the 
United States, was found incompetent, in the relaxation of 
peace and fancied security, to control those obje£ts of national 
concern, which Vvere essential to the safety and happiness of the 
American people, 

The fairprosped^ of our rising empire was obsctired — the fai- 
lure of our national engagements — the dissolution of our union— . 
the consequent evils of rivalry — and the eventual horrors of war, 
were all impending. 

The crisis wris alarming beyond expression, and required an 
immediate interposition of the most patriotic exertions to avert 
the threatened calamities. 

In the delegated wisdom and patriotism of the several states, 
the sage and virtuous Washington was again distinguished, and 
3g;iin pre-eminent. 

Elected, by an unanimous suffrage, to preside over those 
deliberations, on which the fate of a mighty nation, and the 
felicity of millions were suspended, the dignity of his charac- 
ter, and the influence of his example, gave, to the discussion of 
different Interests, a spirit of conciliation, which resulted in the 
noblest concessions — and an impression of national deference, 
in which subordinate considerations were merged and extin- 
guished, 

Yes, my fellow-citizens, to his accurate perception of our 
several interests — ,to his just construftion of what was required 
to reconcile them— no less than to his skill and valor, in the day 
of battle, are we indebted for a large portion of our national 
harmony, and social happiness. 

It is not in language to appreciate, with just estimation, the 
advantages, which, on this great emergency, were derived to 
his country, from the mild dignity of his manner, and the \\dir-, 
nionizing charafler of his deportment, 



WASHINGTONIANA. 4r 

In theni was personified that accommodation, which the crisis 
demanded, and which the great instrument of our. national safety, 
most happily, proclaims in all its provisions. 

On the adoption of this auspicious substitute to our imperfetfl 
confederation— when the voice of united America was to desig- 
nate the most deserving citizen, to administer the important 
duties of the executive department — the choice was conformed 
to the gratitude of the nation, and to the high desert of her 
most beloved, and most respe£led patriot. 

The Illustrious Washington was again the objeA of undivided 
esteem, and the depositary of the public confidence. 

To him, as to an unerring guide, were committed the diffi- 
cult and delicate arrangements of a new-formed government^ 
co-extensive with the limits, and embracing the various inte- 
rests of " our wide-spreading empire." 

Renouncing the pleasures and the elegancies of his chosen 
retreat, he consented to embark the rich treasure of his fame 
on an untried element — and, solely aftuated by the will of his 
country, he resigned to her wishes the evening of that llfe> 
whose morn and meridian had been devoted to her service. 

To trace the merits of his civil administration — to remark 
the judgment and impartiality, with which its most delicate 
duties were discharged — to observe the unwearied investigation, 
on which his judicious seledion to office was grounded — to re- 
view those opinions, which were submitted, for co-operation, 
to the other branches of government — to notice the scrupulous 
delicacy, with which he abstained from encroachment on the 
province of their authority — while he maintained, with unde- 
viating firmness, the powers which the constitution had exclu- 
sively assigned to the executive organ, would far exceed the 
limits of an euloglum. 

They are classed in the highest order of precedents, and are 
most usefully referred to the historical amplification of his In- 
strudtivc life. 



48 WASHINGTONIANA. 

The immediate efFe£ls of so much virtue, wisdom and exer- 
tion, were obvious to the most superficial observer. 

Under the auspices of that government, which the weight 
of his opinions had so largely contributed to frame, and to esta- 
blish, and under the happy influence of such an administration 
of its provisions, the prosperity of our country was advanced 
beyond the most sanguine expedlations of patriotism. 

Hope and happiness were substituted to gloom and misfor- 
tune — and national respedl succeeded to national degradation. 

The labor of the husbandman, the industry of the mechanic, 
the enterprize of the merchant, were all protected and rewarded. 

The surplus produdls of our soil were exchanged in profitable 
barter — the busy hum of men was again heard in our deserted 
harbors — and the canvass of our commerce was spread to every 
gale. 

The restoration of public; credit gave confidence to private 
transadion— and the stridl dispensation of justice silenced the 
last murmur of complaint. 

It was no less honorable to the people of the United Statest 
than to their illustrious benefador, that the acknowledgment of 
his transcendent merits was the delightful theme of every class 
and condition. 

Infancy was taught to lisp his praise — youth and manhood 
poured forth the eftusions of their gratitude — and the blessings 
of age were expressed with the fervor of feeling, and the so- 
lemnity of religion. 

States and individuals were emulous to express his worth. 
He was the boast of our nation among strangers — and an objed. 
of veneration to every people. 



WASHINGTONIANA. 49 

In this happy conjundure of our aftairs, the torch of war 
■was lighted in Europe, and threatened to extend its flame to 
this favored portion of the globe. 

To that guardian care, whose unceasing vigilance watched 
over us — to the hero, whose protefling arm, in the hour of ine- 
vitable conflict, had borne aloft the conquering banner of our 
country, were we indebted for the preservation of peace, and 
an exemption from the distress and danger of foreign war. 

Pboclaiminc to the people of the United States, and to 
the belligerent powers, the determination of our government to 
maintain an impartial neutrality, he continued, by an undeviat- 
ing course of honorable policy, to ensure to his country the 
blessings of peace, and the benefits of the most advantageous 
position. 

During the desolation of war her commerce was extended, 
and her redundant harvests administered to the wants of less 
favored nations. 

On the revolution of his official term of service, an opportu- 
nity was afforded to express the public sense of his administra- 
tion — and it was manifested in the most singular demonstration 
of gratitude and applause, that has ever been bestowed. 

Having nominated, in the first instance, to all the offices 
of the general government — and having unavoidably disap- 
pointed the wishes of numerous expeiElants, — yet such had been 
the propriety of his appointments, and such the purity of his 
conduA, that, on the second eleftion of chief magistrate, there 
was not found, among several millions of people, a single dis- 
sent from the choice of this immaculate man. 

He was unanimously re-elefted to preside over their political 
concerns, and to continue the blessings of his administration. 

Among the multiplied advantages of that administration, 
the philanthropist will review, with peculiar pleasure, an inva- 

G 



50 Washingtoniana. 

riable attention to conciliate the aboriginal inhabitants of our 
country, and an unrt-mitting endeavor to ameliorate their hap- 
less condition. 

Regarding the interests of this unfortunate race as sacred — 
and viewing a compliance with their claims to proteclion, as 
among the first duties of the government, his beneficent patro- 
nage was extended to every objeft which might promote their 
■welfare, or prcveht the evils incident to their situation. 

To the injunftions of public negociation, he united the ad- 
■ monitions of personal sensibility, and the most benevolent con- 
cern for this unhappy people. 

The astonished savage beheld, in the far-famed chief of an 
hostile nation, the protestor of his tribe, and the zealous friend 
of their happiness — his doubts of safety were changed to ad- 
miring confidence — and the vindidlive spirit of revenge was lost 
in a grateful sense of unexpe£ted favor and kindness. 

Having obtained, by treaty, a surrender of the military 
posts on our western frontier, he was enabled, in a great mea- 
sure, to carry into efFeft the magnanimous policy, which he had 
'instituted towards the Indian tribes — and to extend, at the same 
time, to the white inhabitants, in that quarter of the Union, 
the security of peace, and the benefits of a friendly intercourse 
with their immediate neighbors. 

While intent on the completion of a general pacific system, 
in relation to the affairs of the United States, he was not in- 
sensible to the mutable policy of nations, nor inattentive to the 
'necessary measures of military -defence. 

He believed it essential to the safety of our extensive com- 
' merce, and to the dignity of our national charader, to enter on 
the formation of a naval establishment, which he considered as 
the best, and the natural, defence of the United States. 

The sanAion of his opinion was accordingly given to this 
important measure. 



WASHINGTONIANA. 51 

In reviewing the principal features of his public character, 
and their beneficial results, we are led no less to applaud the 
benevolence, than to admire the discernment, of his philanthro- 
pic and capacious mind. 

With native, and acquired, propensities to ipilitary gloiy — 
■with every incentive to the exercise of arms, whiGh copsurn,- 
mate skill in war, or the hope of distinftion could supply — peace 
was the ruling principle of his conduft, and the tranquil prospe- 
rity of his country was the dearest objedl of his ambition. 

In the grateful belief that tl^ls anxious wish ^ya? accomplish- 
ed, he intimated his intention to decline the honors ojf his high 
station, and to withdraw from all pulilic employnjeipt. 

To this intimation, conveyed in an address to the people of 
the United States, was subjoined a series of opinions, on the 
subjed of their public concerns, the legacy of an affe(£lion?ite 
father to a beloved family, containing the most ingtru (Stive, in- 
teresting :^n4ijnportant advice that has ever been submitted to 
any nation. 

An observance of those maxims would ensure our political 
welfare, and promote our social happiness — they are no less cal- 
culated to improve the heart than to inform the judgment — the.yi 
should be committed to the memory of the young, and the me- 
ditation of the old — they are invaluable to the present genera- 
tion—and they will be regarded by succeeding ages, as the best 
gind highest euloglum of tjiis tjransc.endejit Qhara^er. 

YiELDiJJG to his desire of repose, his grateful countrymen 
invoked .tb,e, blessing of heaven on the close of his illustrious 
life, and acquiesced in his intention to retire. 

BEpotD l^im returned to the ?ta,t;ion of a .private citizen, en» 
forcing, by corre,£l example, those rules of conduct, which, with 
modest diffidence, he had offered to the consideration of his 
fountry, 



52 WASHINGTONIANA. 

Divested of every distinftion, and without a personal at- 
tendant, he mingled in the throng of citizens, and was the first 
to express the homage of his esteem, vhich was respedlful, af- 
fedlionate and sincere, at the inauguration of his successor — 
to whom, no less than to the memory of the illustrious dead, 
it is due to remark that, in their personal intercourse, and in all 
their official relations, the most cordial friendship, and benefi- 
cial harmony, had uniformly subsisted. 

To attest the perfeftion of public principle, it will be for ever 
remembered that the distinguished patriot, who had so long, 
and so ably, presided in the concerns of the nation, consented 
to accept a secondary commissionj at a period cf life, when no 
consideration but the safety of his country, and complete confi- 
dence In the measures of her government, could have required 
or prompted the service of the venerable chief. 

The sentiments of his judicious and comprehensive mind, as 
expressed in his own words, on this important occasion, are too 
honorable to his memory, too just in their application to his 
successor, and too interesting to our country, in their relation 
to future events, not to be here recited. See appendix, p. 34. 

Such was the triumph of patriotism — and such the dignified 
completion of his public character. 

With the accomplishments of the hero, and the attributes 
of the statesman, we are now to connect the interesting theme 
of domestic life, and the useful virtues of his private charac- 
ter. 

Favored of heaven, he was blest in the most endeared re-, 
lation of human society. 

The amiable and much respefted partner of his happiness, 
enjoyed his affe<Stion and esteem, and was worthy to participate 
the honors of his exalted station. 



WASHINGTONIANA. 53 

The praAice of his filial piety, which had been distinguished 
at an early age, was continued until the death of his surviving 
parent, with unabated tenderness and respedl. 

His fraternal love was exemplary, as ii was sincere — and the 
munificent provisions of his will, attest the affedlion which he 
bore to his kindred, and the relatives of his family. 

Nor was this munificence bounded by the limits of consan- 
guinity. The interests of freedom and science were anxiously 
consulted, and most generously advanced. 

Age and infirmity were the objedls of his kind regard — 

And the instruftion of youth was connecled with the eman- 
cipation of the bondsman — as a mean of protecting his rights^ 
and rendering him safe and useful to society. 

The friend and the stranger were received with cordial wel- 
come at his hospital mansion — and his beneficence to his neigh- 
bors was returned with the most affedlionate attachment. 

Combining, with a general patronage of science, and use- 
ful institutions, a particular attention to the improvements of 
agriculture, he diffused his observation and experience, in this 
important pursuit, wherever they could be beneficial — extend- 
ing his correspondence, on this interesting subject, to other na- 
tions. 

Such were the outlines of his domestic life — and such were 
his private avocations. 

Unable, on a careful review of eminent characters, to dis- 
cover an apposite resemblance to the constellation of his virtues 
and talents, I forbear to enter on partial comparisons, which 
could not dignify, and would but Imperfedly illustrate the hero 
of our country. 



54 WASHINGTONIANA. 

Enriched by nature with her choicest gifts — she had, with 
equal liberality, bestowed upon him the greatest advantages of 
external form, and the highest degree of intelleftual endowment. 
To the noble part of a lofty stature, were united uncommon 
grace, strength, and symmetry of person : and. to the command- 
ing aspedl of manly beauty, was given the benignant smile, 
which, inspiring confidence, created affeclion. 

In being thus minute, I do not mean to arraign your delighted 
remembrance of the hero, which the short lapse of a fleeting 
year has not effaced. 

Yet were mine the powers of description to produce a perfedl 
image, I would present him to your enraptured imagination — as 
he was seen in battle, calm and cplle^ed-=-as, he appeared in 
council, dignified and serene — as he adorned society, graciou? 
and condescending. 

But, O mournful refie£lion ! that pleasing, that venerable 
form now moulders into dust. Sealed in death are those eyes, 
which watched over our safety : closed for ever are those lips, 
which spake peace and happiness to our country. 

Yet the dark night of the tomb shall not obscure the lustre 
of his fame — and, when brass and marble shall have fallen to 
decay, the sweet remembrance of his virtues, passing in proud 
transmission to remotest ages, shall endure for ever. 



WASHINGTONIANA. 55 



funeral oration^ delivered before the French lodge L'Amenite. 
£j brother Simon Chaudiion. 



o 



Mj brethren^ 

UR brother, Gkorge Washington, Is no more! 



Anew speftacle bursts on the eye of philosophy. The whole 
universe, perhaps, for the first time, will unite in offering a tri- 
bute of gratitude to the memory of a mortal 1 

We, my brethren, whom fate has placed on the theatre of 
his glory, and near to his last remains, we ought to hasten, as 
the apostles of humanity, to strew the earliest flowers on the 
tomb of her hero. 

Feae not, respected shade, that I would compare thy name 
to the names of those unfortunately celebrated as demi-gods, 
whose greatness was derived from the annihilation or destruc- 
tion of mankind, and whose bloody triumphs foreboded slavery 
or death. 

Thy glory Is erected on the basis of thy virtues ; thou hast 
extended thy conquests only in the hearts and over the opinions 
of men ; and, on this very earth, which human corruption and 
avarice have watered with blood and tears, thou art the first 
who hast dared to establish the principles of justice and liberty. 

Most just of mortals ! even thy death, for which a world is 
bathed in tears, will result to the benefit of man. The grief 
of nations for thy loss will be a terrible lesson to their oppres- 
sors ; it will announce to them the near approach of the disso- 
lution of thetr power, and the triumph of reason over the shame- 
ful prejudices of slavery. It will convince ^em, how little is 
'their greatness compared with the empire of virtue, whose only 
limits are the boundaries of the universe. 



56 WASHINGTONIANA. 

If now, disencumbered, as thou art, of the trammels of mor- 
tality, thou canst still feel an interest in sublunary concerns ; 
how afietiting to thee must be the view of those reAvards, which 
the love and gratitude of thy country are this day lavishing 
upon thee. These broken words, which terminate only in sobs ; 
this heart-rending eagerness to announce the loss of a great man, 
and the inability to do it except by tears ; this display of grief, 
T,hich the chaims of youth and beauty render so powerful, that 
each family appears to have lost its father and benefa£tor ; this 
ccmnion burst of blessings and tears, must all declare to thee, 
that, in quitting life, thou hast only hastened forward in the 
road to .n uortality. 

Brethren, if my soul were less oppressed, I would under- 
take to rccal to your recollection, all those titles by which 
Washington commanded the eternal grief of his country, and 
the esteem of all the earth. 1 would undertake to follow him 
in that diiHcult and glorious career, into which he was impelled 
by his devotion to the cause of humanity. But, I find that 
the feeling heart is better able to cherish and admire great men, 
than to celebrate them. I find that the feeling heart cannot of- 
fer any tribute to their memory which Avill not be weakened by 
grief. 

And how can I secure myself against that sentiment which 
all feel, which every thing around me combines to inspire. This 
immense portion of America, whose chains he broke asunder, 
re-echoes with the voice of woe ; all hand.5 are raised to heaven 
in search of the father, the deliverer of their country. The 
sound of the muffled bells ascends on high, the temples of God 
are shrouded with the badges of mourning, the deep-mouthed 
engines of war, which, under his direftion, thundered only for 
the public good — all, all, announce that a great calamity has 
befallen this part of the human ^race, who owe to him their hap- 
piness and independence. • 
• 

But the country which experienced his fatherly protedlion^ 
is not suiHciently extensive for the display of his glory. 



WASHINGTONIANA. 4/ 

Already those children of nature, -whoro European avarice 
has, for two centuries, been hurrying to annihilation ; those sa-k 
vages of the woods, who regarded the name of Washington, 
as the barrier of their frontier ; yes, those men, without doubt, 
are already assembled, and methinks I hear them say, " Our 
father, the great warrior of America, has gone down to the 
tomb ; who now shall guarantee to us the possession of ouf 
lands ? Brethren, let us make an offering to his shade, that 
it may protect us, and let us transmit his image to our chil- 
dren." 

How truly great must be the glory of that virtuous citizen, 
whose likeness, in every quarter of the globe, graces every 
dwelling, except, perhaps, the palaces of kings. How truly 
great must that glory be, which is proclaimed by the savage o£ 
the "woods in concert with all the civilized nations of the world ! 

Violators of the sacred laws of humanity, to whom cri- 
minal adulation erecled trophies and thrones, you, who, after 
having spread devastation over the earth, dared to call youi'* 
selves the masters of it ! What are you in comparison with the 
modest hero, whom Impartial truth this day proclaims the de- 
fender of the human race? Execrable tyrants, who dwelt in 
midst of slaves and butchers, and whose existence your people 
sorrowfully supported, what is become of your glory ? The sa- 
lutary hand of death has suspended the sentiment of fear which 
bore down your viftims, and all the monuments of your power 
are fallen, with yourselves, into the dust. 

Whe-s eternal Providence sends great men upon earth for 
models and avengers, it, at the same time, watches over the 
safety of innocence, and the proteftion of its altars. If virtue 
had not also its defenders and proteftors, all the imprecations 
vented by the unfortunate against divine Providence, would be 
justified. 

In his youth, Washington felt the sublime impulse of lov« 
for man and liberty. Heaven had infused into him an abun- 
dant portion of that ethereal fire, which raises the soul to the 

H 



S8 tVASHINGTONIANA. 

contemplation of great things. He could not feel all the dig's 
nity of kis nature without groaning for the degradation of an 
immense portion of his species. A single institution * brought 
men under the level of equality ; he wished to understand its 
principles — he wished to become one of its members. His soul 
expanded with the pure flame of charity ; and, I have the pride 
to believe, that the first step which he made in the tetople of 
truth, had an influence on the fate of this empire ; and on the 
improvements in the systems of other governments, what have 
been the consequences of it ? 

A SIMPLE education, by leaving the energy of his soul un- 
impaired, and his body in full vigor, enabled him to pass his 
youthful days between the noble employment of cultivating the 
ground and pursuing the art of war. Notwithstanding, howe- 
ver brilliant the career of his arms might have appealed to him, 
whatever esteem his bravery and skill in the performance of his 
duty might have acquired, whatever hopes of advancement the 
elevated rank which he possessed when but twenty years of age, 
might have held forth to him, the glory of being only a great 
warrior, did not appear to him worthy of the sacrifice of his 
prevailing passion for the innocent charms of agriculture and 
domestic felicity. He took up arms only for the defence of the 
soil that gave him birth, and only to prevent its devastation. 
It was, without doubt, that, then fighting against Frenchmen, 
he learnt what powerful aid might be derived from that brave 
and gei>erous nation, for the establishment of liberty, in the new 
world. 

The unfortunately natural proneness of power towards op- 
pression, had drawn on the American colonies all the abuse 
which accompany pride and authority. Thb yoke become in- 
sujiportable, called forth a spirit of resistance. The mother 
country committed to the decision of the sword, the issue of a 
quarrel, which justice and reason might have settled without 
the eflTusion of human blood. Rarely does power suffer weak- 
ness to express the sense of its innocence. It was, therefore, 
thought proper to threaten with chains, or menace with death, 
* MasQnrj, 



WASHINGTONIANA. 59 ^ 

a people who boasted of Washington for their friend and de- 
fender ; and war commenced with fury between men, whom a r 
conformity of language and manners, it seemed, ought to have > 
united by indissoluble tics. > 

When the mother country threw her armies on the shores 
of America, to support her pretensions, all eyes, all hearts, 
were turned towards the peaceable farmer of Mount-Vernon. i 
He undertook the defence and justification of his country with > 
the devotion and modesty of true heioisra. All the friends of:r 
glory and liberty flocked to his standard, and the proud aggres- ' 
sors of Bunker's Hill soon found, that, a nation armed by jus- ' 
tice and led by a great man, was not the conquest of a day/' 
The haughty presumption of the enemy's generals causing them • 
to forget what pity has a right to ex-peft from a civilized natidn, 
even in a state of war, our hero, with the firmness of a republi- 
can soldier, recalled to their minds the principles of honor and 
humanity, the only alleviation to the severity of the warrior's 
lot. 

All those epithets which scorn invents to excite hatred and , 
contempt against an enemy, lost their original meaning. Their 
patience in marches, and military manoeuvres, their resignation 
when in want of every thing, and their intrepidity in adlion, all 
soon announced that these rebels against arbitrary and tyranni- 
cal laws were sc many heroes ; all soon announced, that the 
army, like its illustrious leader, was ec^ually inaccessible to fear 
as to corruption. 

The argument which enforces the necessity of oppressing 
men in order to govern them, is a calumny against the human 
race, invented by tyranny to palliate its excesses and to justify 
its crimes. It is the example of superior chara£lers that has 
the most p >werful influence over the morality of nations. Wash- 
ington supported the perseverance of his soldiers and the hopes 
of his fellow-citizens, only by the ascendancy of his virtues. 
His sensibility for the sufferings of others, while his own ap- 
peared to have been forgotten, inflamed the ardor of men, of 
whose labors he was, at once, the direAor and partaker. 



60 . WASHINGTONIANA. 

His sacred regard to his engagements was the means of' fur- 
nishing him resources, which were even witlnheld from the con- 
querors for want of confidence. The Canadians provisioning 
}iis army, upon the bare guarantee of his name, have rendered 
immortal homage to the reftitude of his heart. 

The enthusiasm which these first successes produced, aug- ' 
mented his hopes, without intoxicating his soul. Boston re- 
ceived him with acclamations of admiration and gratitude ; but, 
the hero, regardless of himself in the midst of the joy Svhich 
he had inspired, converted, to the profit of his country, the in- 
terest which he had excited for himself. In modestly declining 
the premature laurels which the love of his country decreed him, 
he nobly gave all the credit to the companions of his arms, and 
kept in reserve for himself only the treasure of public opinion, 
by which he has since been enabled twice to save his country. 

Hitherto the w^ar was but a simple and lawful defence on 
the part of America. All the means of reconciliation being 
vanished, it became necessary to declare the emancipation of a 
great people, to give them a solid form of government ; and, 
■with J vigorous resolution to maintain it, to raise them to a 
place among the nations of the earth. Whatever might have 
been the manoeuvres of the enemy to prevent this separation, 
so fatal to the mother country, the independence of the United 
States was proclaimed and solemnly sworn to be maintained at 
the head of the armies. 

All the combinations of force were rendered abortive by re- 
sistance, and the enemies of Washington and liberty conceived, 
that, to immolate one, -would be the only means of destroying 
the other. The life of the hero who seemed to hold the desti- 
nies of America in his hands was to have been destroyed by the 
assassin's dagger;* but, an ever a<^ive Providence watched 
over him, and the bloody plot answered no other purpose to its 

'^ Impartial History of the military and political events of tbe 
laxt ivar^ vol. 1, page 184. Gordon's History of the United 
States, vol. 2, page 71 ; idem, vol. 3, fol, 213. 



WASHINGTONIANA. 6\ 

a-uthors, than to complete the measure of hatred and horror 
%vhich they had inspired. 

Whilst he was thus engaged in braving assassins and com- 
bating armies, fortune was preparing for his great soul an op- 
portunity to immortalize itself. His very reverses' had disco- 
vered to him the secrets of the weakness of his enemies. The 
difficulty of replacing their men, made the latter desirous cf 
an active war, which might soon decide their fate, and leave 
no time to the American soldiers for acquiring discipline. The 
former, by seizing the opportunities for attack constantly of- 
fered by European t?.ftics, had become alarmingly enfeebled. 
Already the capital momently expected to bow to the law of 
the conqueror ; but, Washington, superior to the sense of fear, 
dared to hope every thing from the justice of his cause and the 
greatness of his courage. Like another Leonidas, he had the 
boldness to believe, that with three thousand soldiers of liberty, 
he could face his numerous enemies. In faft, the imminence of' 
the danger produced such increased ardor and devotion to the 
cause, that he braved the English, received reinforcements, saved 
Philadelphia, and crowned the glorious enterprize by reducing' 
1,500 of the enemy's troops to the humiliating condition of lay- 
ing down their arms. 

Plains of Trenton ! your name is as immortal as the hero 
whom I celebrate. The feeling traveller, "will stop, in everv 
age, to contemplate the fields, where victory wove a wreath for 
valor a.nd justice 1 

Inhabitants of this peaceful country ! your children can 
never again behold their deliverer : but let it be your delight, 
to learl them to the field of battle, where W'ash'ngton saved 
your independence, and let them water the place of his triumph 
with tears of gratitude J 

The plans of the enemy being disconcerted, it was expefted 
the resources of a great nation, indignant of defeats, would all 
36 displayed. And, indeed, neither money or men were spared 
;o stiflvT the new-born republic in its cradle. Three armies, 



6Q WASHINGTONIANA. 

■whose progress, all the genius of Washington, and all the bra- 
very of his troops could, with difficulty arrest, threatened it 
it from distant points. The conquest of the capital was the 
chief objedl of their wishes. An army superior in numbers, 
came for this purpose, to provoke the American army to a ge-f 
neriil action. Its illustrious chief foresaw all the danger of ex- 
posing the safety of a great city to the fate of a battle ; but, 
congress having ordered it, he obeyed as a citizen and fought 
as a hero. The viftory which escaped him at Brandywine, not- 
withstanding the prodigies of valor exhibited by the American 
army and the French auxiliary officers, opened to the enemies 
the road to Philadelphia^ This blow, far from damping the ar-, 
dor of Washington, served only to reanimace it. He conti- 
nued the mode of warfare most favorable to courage, and con- 
trived- to avoid the danger of general actions, by which his 
country might have lest, in one day, the fruit of three years' sa-r 
ciifices and battles. The happy advantage of sparing the blood 
of his fellow-citizens, and wearying his enemy, was the result 
of his system. Like a profound politician, he saw that in tem^ 
porizing, he gave to the powers of Europe, always rivals, al- 
ways at v/ar, always ambitious, time to interest themselves in 
the fate of people, whose emancipation would deprive the richest, 
the most aclive, and most jealous of all nations, of a part of 
her resources. The event justified his expeftations. The French 
government thought it incumbent on it to aid in humiliating 
G»-eat-Britain ; and, regardless of the consequences which might 
result to itselfj declared for the United States of America, 
whose independence it acknowledged. 

The warriors of France, in crov/ds, strove for the honor of 
hastening to engage, under a new hemisphere, the natural ene- 
mies of their country. The love of glory and liberty rendered 
the allied legions invincible ; and England soon found herself 
reduced to the alternative of losing the remainder of her posses- 
sions in the new world, or of abandoning her vain and danger- 
ous pretensions over the American republic. However, nothing 
was left untried by that nation to recover its authorisy. Pro- 
mises, threats, all were employed: all were of no avail. The 



WASHINGTONIANA. \ 6t? 

treachery of one republican general vvas the only triumph gained 
by corruption over the fidelity of the army ; nor did the defec- 
tion of this officer cost England less than a soldier, for whose 
fate Europe and America have wept. 

Major Andre, a youthful hero, on whom nature and love 
had been prodigal of their favors, had the weakness to engage 
in the criminal projecl.s of a traitor. He was deserted by for- 
tune from the very moment that he dared, for the first time, to 
violate the sacred principles of military honor. His life was 
doomed to pay the forfeit ! But so many virtues, and such un- 
common grace, so powerfully plead for the pardon of his fault, 
that imperious necessity alone could have determined the Order 
for his death. Here the statesman, here the soldier, inflexible 
in his obedience to the laws, was bound to stifle the emotions 
of pity and indulgence. The chief of the republican army was 
bound to confirm the sentence of death on a guilty foe, undaunted 
by the apprehension of being charged with inhumanity. But 
after the accomplishment of the painful duty, the compassion- 
ate soul of the hero was at liberty to give a loose to all the emo- 
tions of sensibility ! O Washington ! the tears with which thou 
bathest the decree that sealed his fate, will, in the eyes of pi- 
tying posterity, efface a crime, which the love of beauty and 
love of his country extorted from the virtue of the unfortunate 
Andre. 

The capture of York-town, one of the most decisive acllons 
of the war, put an end to the hopes of the enemies of America. 

Washington gave to the French and American army, a. 
proof of his esteem, which its intrepidity and patience in this 
expedition, justly merited. The French soldiers, ever alive to 
glory, found in the praise of a hero, amends for all their suffr-.r- 
ings. The joy of this solemn fete was completed by the par- 
don of all the faults of discipline, committed during the cam- 
paign ; and this day was one of the most satisfaAory to the fa- 
ther and friend of soldiers, since he had it in his power to ci,own. 
it by an ad of clemency. 



64 / WASHINGTONIANA. 

The war drawing near to a close, Washington assembled the 
officers of the army to exhort them to maintain the example of 
perseverance which they had unceasingly displayed, and to be on 
their guard against the perfidious insinuations of the enemies of 
their independence. This great man so completely Inspired the 
companions of his glory with his own sentiments, that they again 
renewed their oath to die for their country. 

The period when an empire is to be organized, is ahvays a 
time of trouble and anarchy. All the political ideas being newj 
and every interest different, each one wishes to reap the b<ene-« 
fits of the new establishments. The secret enemies of the new 
Grder of things, which it may be' intended to establish, taking 
advantage of this critical moment to introduce a discordancy of 
opinions, war is the conse.quence of the division of sentiment, 
unless a centre is formed which will unite all hearts. Wash- 
ington, who had wrested America from the fury of oppression, 
now saved it from its ov/n phrenzy. With his viftorious hands, 
he extinguished the torch of civil war, which was about to enve* 
lojis his country in flame. No one flattering himself with the 
expeftation of gaining Washington over to his own party, the 
Avhole nation became of his ; and the calm of confidence shc- 
ceeded to the tumult of confusion. 

The sacrifices made by the federal republic brought on a peaces 
but so exhausted v/ere its resources, that it found itself utterly 
unable to perform the promises made to its brave defenders. The 
army complained to its general of the refusal of the government, 
and loudly accused it of ingratitude ; the soldiers reminded him 
cf their past sufferings and present necessities. The hero, be- 
holding their misery, and convinced of the impossibility of ame- 
liorating their situation, appeased their murmurs by the con- 
cern only which he took in their suffering's. Having refused to 
receive any compensation for himself, he was the most proper 
person t(? demand a reward for his companions in arms, But, 
however great might hiive been his desire to preserve the affec- 
tion of his army, he defended the honor of the government 
against the insinuations and att::cks of the discontented. Every 
thing assumed the calm oi" his sotji : the fear of displeasing him^ 



WashingtonianA. es 

seerecd to do away all distrust, to unite all sentiments ; and the 
sublime letter with which he concluded his military career, af- 
fixed the seat of immortality to the titles of his glory. 

Affecting scenes were now preparing for the heart of Wash- 
ington. He was about to leave that army, which six years of 
fidelity and attachment, had so much endeared to him. He ap- 
peared a Germanitus receiving the adieux of the Roman legions. 
Every eye was suffused with tears, every heart was oppressed 
vith grief, and a croud of heroes pressed around the great man, 
each one eager to catch and preserve these affeAlng words : 
*' With a heart full of love and gratitude, I take leave of you, 
with an ardent prayer that the evening of your days may be as 
happy and prosperous as theii- morning has been glorious and ho- 
norable." The silence of grief was the eloquent reply of the 
army. The friend of the people, perceiving, after he had left 
the shore, all eyes direfted tov/ards him, respeftfully saluted this 
family of brothers and friends, whose every heart was with him ; 
and, with difficulty, he suppressed the painful emotions of his 
soul. 

His journey afterwards was a triumphal ptoccsslon. Testi- 
monials of gratitude and veneration every where followed him. 
The hero, apparently unconscious of the immortal honors with 
which his brows were encircled, in a public manner, ascribed 
his successes to the influence of heaven, to the courage of his 
fellow-citizens and the justice of their cause. Then, bowing; 
before the august depositaries of the law, he returned into their 
hands that victorious sword, which he held by their authority, 
thanked them for their confidence in him, rendered an account, 
■with his own hand, of the public money which had been ex- 
pended by him during the war, expressed his wishes for the pros- 
perity of his country, recommended to her her protestors, and 
solicited only the favor of being permitted to pass the remainder 
of his life in the peaceful shades of retirement, in the bosom of 
his family, and near to the tombs of his ancestors. 

His arrival at the delightful spot which contained all the ob- 
jedts of hi8 afiedions, was a moment of ccstacy, which hU souj 

I 



66 WASHINGTONIANA. 

could scarcely support. The transports of an adored wife, wh»^ 
for six whole years, had no other consolation than her tears and 
the glory of her husband ; and, who again beheld him crowned 
with the blessings of the whole world ; his eager neighbors and 
faithful domestics, bathing with their tears the hands that saved 
his country ! What a scene ! How powerful and how exquisite 
must have been the sensations of his soul, ere he could find 
words to express himself 1 O! Washington! how grateful 
shouldst thou be to heaven for having preserved the simplicity 
of thy heart, and enabled thee to say, in every period of thy 
life, with the Theban general, " I wish not to forget how they 
live at home." How pure must have been thy joy, since thou 
thyself felt the happiness with which thou hadst inspired others. 

Domestic tranquillity and the delightful harmony of nature, 
so grateful to strong and feeling minds, had hardly begun to af- 
ford him a taste of their charms, than the voice of his country 
again called him to the theatre of civil life. He alone could 
give that vigor to the laws, which a confidence in the chief ma- 
gistrate of a country inspires. He saw the necessity of the sa- 
crifice ; and, always devoted, always faithful to his duty, he 
hastened to assume the reins of a government, which, in part, 
owed its formation to him ; and which was to receive its first 
lustre from the wisdom of his administration. The joy of the 
people on again beholding the man of their choice, can only be 
compared to the modesty of their benefaftor. The whole of his 
route was lined with an immense concourse of people, assembled 
from far and near. — Their joy was expressed by songs and tears ; 
innocence and beauty strewed flowers in the path of the hero of 
liberty, and the gratitude of wives and mothers was inscribed 
by the hand of chastity on triumphal arches. 

I HAVE seen the pompous entry of sovereigns. I have seen 
the noisy acclamations of the people rewarded by throwing to 
them, with disdain, a contemptable portion of the riches torn 
from their industry by the prodigality of kings. Under cars, 
glittering with gold and purple, I have seen misery and wretch- 
edness disputing, at the rjgli; of life, for what cQuld afford them 



WASHINGTONIANA. 6/ 

Kut the relief of a day, and tears of humiliation and pity have 
j'ollcd down my cheeks. 

I HATE seen Washington, a second time, accept the most ele- 
vated of stations. Grateful, and with respeft, before the source 
of all lawful authority, before this same class of citizens, which, 
in other places, I have seen cringing like slaves ; him, 1 saw, 
adorned with laurels and his virtues, assume, with a noble pride, 
the title of first servant of the people, and ray soul rising to the 
sublimity of his, I have felt that I could neiifbr again belong to 
mastcrsj after having been for a moment the equal of an hero. 

Under the first presidency of Washington, the happiness of 
his constituents was complete. Under the second, he could not 
avert all the dangers with which the peace of his country was 
threatened ; but he averted war, the greatest of evils. 

All Europe was in arms. France, the obje£l of the jealousy 
of all nations, was also become the objeft of their hatred. The 
success of her invincible armies, and her revolutionary princi- 
ples appearing dangerous to the safety of crowned heads, almost 
all of them appealed to the sword for the maintenance of their 
authority. The government of the United States solicited to 
become a party, conceived itself not bound in duty, cither to 
espouse the cause of kings, or to declare for an invincible peo- 
ple, who braved with success a powerful coalition, and whose 
rulers were, at that time, cutting each others throats, at the 
altar of their country, 

Washington, therefore, declared the neutrality of United 
America ; and, opening to this nation, by this a£l of firmness, 
all the sources of industry, from which a people in a state of 
war arc debarred, he prepared it to profit by the errors of Eu- 
rope. 

Thus America became the asylum of all the unfortunate, 
•whom severe measures of policy, persecution or misery, had 
driven from their country. All here found the same succor, the 
same proteftion j for the laws being founded in justice and li- 



68 WASHINGTONIANA. 

berty, no fear existed cither of the projjrcss of reason, or the 
influence of prejudice. 

To us, Frenchmen, who have been so kindly received on these 
peaceful sliores, it belongs to pay distinguished respeft to the 
■wisdom of the hero whom we deplore ; we, whom cruel fate 
has torn from our homes, without suffering us to carry away 
any thing but our tears and our innocence, to interest the pity 
of mankind, should ever hold him in grateful remembrance. 
What would have*brcome of that croud of wretched old men, 
children and defenceless citizens, whom the daggers of assas- 
sins had driven from their blazing habitations, if an inimical por 
iicy had repulsed us from this hospitable land ? My country- 
men, let us never forget to teach our children to bless the me- 
mory of the protedor of their early days : let us never forget 
to tell them, that, but for him, perhaps, the wide ocean had 
been their tomb. 

"Whilst Europe, inundated with blood, endeavored to force 
the neutral powers to swell the number of destroyers and vic- 
tims. United America, enjoying peace, wished to have nothing 
to fear from European policy, and the raising of an army ap- 
peared the surest mean to secure it against all foreign menace 
and influence. The name, alone, of Washington, ought to 
tave convinced the belligerent powers of the injustice of their 
attempts on a nation whose defence he had undertaken. This 
great man imposed no other conditions to his obedience than 
those of Cincinnatus to the Roman senate — the liberty of re- 
tiring to his fields, when the country should be placed in a state 
of security. 

It was in the midst of this career, that death snatched liim 
^rom the love and gratitude of the world. 

Heaven and nature have taken back their gift in all the per- 
feclion of his being, that he might carry to the tomb, a glory 
unsullied by any human weakness. Serene in mind, above fear, 
|U human obligations paid, at peace with God, I^is exalted soyl 



WASHINGTONIANA. 69 

is gone to enjoy in heaven the blessings which it recciv-^cs from 
mortals. 

O ! Washington, if in the abode of thy glory thou art 
accessible to the sighs and lamentations of men, pardon their 
grief, should it intrude for a moment on thy supreme felicity I 
Thou canst not yet tear thyself from our love ; our sorrows 
will pursue thee even to the bosom of the divinity, — Each day 
will we do homage to eternal mercy in immortalizing thy me- 
piory — each day -will we importune it, in imploring the resto-» 
|:ation of it i 

Shade of Washington^ rest in peace ! 

Sovereign arbiter of worlds, supreme and inexhaustible 
source of all good ! accept our thanks ! 1 hou hast bestowed on 
the world a model of all human perfeftion, to re-animate the 
germs of virtue implanted in our bosoms ! Deign, O great ar- 
chiteiSt of the universe, to inspire the rulers of nations with a 
sense of thy ineffable goodness ! Stay, with thine Almighty arm, 
the blood and tears, with which pride and ambition are drench- 
ing the earth ! Grant, O my God! that the desire of glory may- 
be kindled in the souls of heroes, only by the love of justice 
and humanity] 

l^After the orator had ceased to speak, the ivorsbipful master 
arose, and delivered in English the follovjing respectful address 
to the grand master, and other grand officers and American vi~ 
sitors ; and concluded the ceremonies of the day with a polite 
(iddress, in French, to the ladies."} 

R. W. grand master ; W. grand officers of the grand lodge of 
Pennsylvania. 

American brethren, 

HOWEVER true may be the satisfaAion we feel every time 
you honor this lodge with your presence, we cannot but 
lament the occasion of your visit on this day. If the loss wc 
all bewail, was but a common loss ; if the grief it occasions 
was confined to American hearts, I might perhaps have at- 
tempted tg- alleviate it ; but what comfort could you exped to 



70 washingtoniana; 

receive from those who want comfort as much as you ! How can 
I presume to dry up the tears you shed upon the tomb of your 
illustrious countryman, when his eminent virtues have made him 
the man of all nations, the idol of all hearts. Yes, brethren, 
however proud America may feel of having produced such a 
hero, it is long since she lost her exclusive claim to his glory ; 
it is long since he became the ornament of mankind, and the 
citizen of the world. Permit me, however, to tell you, that to 
no nation on earth, after his own, was he so dear as to Framce ; 
there the fame of his immortal aftions filled every heart with 
pride and admiration ; there, his only name had the talismanic 
power of ennobling the soul, and raising it to sublime things. 
Such was, brethren, the opinion entertained of our illustrious 
brother, at the time I left my native country. I trust these 
noble sentiments have not degenerated, and sincerely hope, that 
the ceremony you witness to-day in this lodge, will find imitat- 
ors in our sister lodges of France ; there, also, a just tribute 
will be paid to the memory of our hero ; there, also, the most 
feeling part of the creation will blend their tears with those of 
masons, and exhibit the afFefting scene of beauty weeping upon 
the trophies of glory and virtue, 

My amiable shte?-s, 

Ix inviting you, this day, to become partners in our sorrows 
and our tears, we have only done homage to a didate of nature, 
and acknowledged a right, your title to which she herself is 
proud to guarantee. Grief is the offspring and attendant of 
sensibility, and beauty claims the privilege of preparing gar- 
lands for the tombs of her heroes. It is for her smiles they 
make suit during the career of their lives ; it is her tears they 
solicit when they descend in their splendor, to the night of the 
grave. Perhaps no mortal ever boasted a fairer title to this 
glorious tribute, than he whose recent loss inflifts a wound on 
every heart ! The tablature of his resplendent virtues has been 
just pourtrayed to us by the hand of genius ; truth vouchsafed- 
to guide the pencil ; sentiment furnished her magic colouring, 
and your tears are sufficient evidence how irresistible was the 
cffed ! 



WASHINGTONIANA. 71 

Had not grief the deplorable power of swallowing up every 
other sentiment, I would declare to you what delight and glory 
I derive from presiding in the lodge I'Amcnite, on an occasion 
■when you assemble to adorn its important labors. In lament- 
ing with you, that it should be this same sentiment of grief 
which has introduced beauty to the temple of wisdom, I am, 
notwithstanding, bound to congratulate you on such a fortunate 
occurrence, an occurrence of which the value should be deemed 
proportionate to the rarity. The unusual splendor with whicli 
your presence gilds the ceremonies of the day, the brilliancy of 
sentiment with which you inspire our souls, the noble dignity 
of woe which your deportment has manifested, should all con- 
spire to swell our regret that the inflexible laws of masonry ex- 
cludes you from a knowledge of her mysteries. But hov/ever 
rigid you may deem those laws, beware of suspecting them of 
caprice or injustice. Reje(ft the opinion of an ignorant popu- 
lace, who hold this exclusion injurious to that lovely sex which 
constiiutes its objed. Banish the idea, which would mortify 
us by shading with suspicion the sublime opinion we entertain of 
your virtues. Be assured, that, in thus retiring from your view, 
we distrust ourselves rather than you. Be assured, that far 
from undervaluing the gifts with which nature has so bounte- 
ously favored us, we dread the dominion which they never fail 
to exercise over our hearts. Finally, be assured that beauty is' 
excluded from the temple of wisdom, only from an apprehen- 
sion that the torch of love might obscure, by its brilliancy, the 
sweet but feeble lustre of truth. 

But, though strangers to the mysteries which reign in this 
place, you do not fail, my dear sisters, to co-operate in the 
grand work v/hich we have undertaken. It is in the bosom of 
your domestic virtues, that -we prepare the precious elements of 
a course of labor deveted to wisdom ; it is you, who In confer- 
ring on us the sacred title of parent, open to our hearts all the 
treasures of tender sensibility, and render them capable of those 
emotions which beneficence and humanity have so often ap- 
plauded in this place ; it is you whose mild resignation gives 
calmness to those turbulent spirits ever prone to be restless un- 
4er the pressure of adversity j it is you who sweeten the bitt«:r 



n WASHINGTONIANA. 

cup of a long and painful exile ; it is you who render tolerable 
an existence remote from our country ; it is you who spreading 
a veil over the retrospecl of opulence for ever lost, embellish, 
with your charms, even the dwellings of indigence ; finally, it 
is you Avho give us to know, that real misery is an empty sound, 
when the conscience is a stranger to the pangs of remorse. Ac- 
cept the tribute of gratitude, which we tender for so many fa- 
vors received at your hands 1 Accept the tribute of our homage, 
for all the virtues with which you inspire us '.—Persevere in the 
glorious task wJiich Providence in his wise dispensation has as- 
signed you. Implant in our children those sentiments with 
which your own spotless bosoms are inspired. Render them 
worthy of being one day consecrated on the altar which we 
have here eredled to wisdom. Teach them to mingle their pray- 
ers with ours for our final restoration to the bosom of our coun- 
try. In a word, continue to be what you are, and you may 
then flatter yourselves of being able to co-operate in the labor 
which wisdom has enveloped in the shadows of mystery. 

Visitants from every kindred lodge who this day honor us 
with your presence, accept, in this form profane, such thanks 
and acknowledgments as are your due. If the lodges which are 
so fortunate as to be the dispensers of light to you, feel any in- 
terest in our labors, give them to know, that you have seen the 
French lodge I'Amenite prodigal of her tears over the tomb of 
Washington. 



funeral eulogy^ occasioned hy the death of general tVASHitfcroy. 
Delivered before the Neiv-Tork State Societj of the Cincinnati. 
By William Lin^; D. B. 

^ I ^HIS solemn assembly and these sable ensigns proclaim no 

-^ common grief. Already has every American wept ; al-^ 

ready have the sad funereal precessions moved ; and already 



WASHINGTONIANA. Vs 

have the virtues and the services of Washington been celebrated 
from the pulpit, and from the rostrum. 

Why are we again assembled ? and why is the tomb unco- 
vered ? It is that we may all take another look. This is the 
birth-day of the beloved man. Was there no other which could 
have been chosen than that on which we have so frequently re- 
joiced ? It is kindly intended to give indulgence to our sorrow, 
to teach us that no character is exempt from the stroke of death, 
and especially to induce our submission to the will, and our ado- 
ration of that Almighty Being who " gave and who hath taken 
iiway." 

We find from the. earliest records of time, that the pradlice 
has been usual in all ages and in all nations, of honoring those 
who were distinguished by their excellence, and were esteemed 
public blessings. Trophies have been decreed to them while 
living, and at their decease their bodies have been sometimes 
embalmed ; monuments, elegies and funeral orations have per- 
petuated the memory of their honorable deeds. 

This has a happy tendency to ensure a noble and virtuous 
condu£l, and to excite the imitation of others. The love of 
fame, when subordinate to the general good of mankind, is in- 
separable from him who is truly great ; and hccarries his views 
beyond the grave to the reward which posterity shall bestow. 
Were there then no other reason for praising the illustrious 
dead, this would be sufficient. 

But there is an obligation of still higher moment. Eminent 
men are qualified for their work by God. They are his servants. 
In honoring them, we honor Him. It is true that the heathen 
glorified not God, but substituted creatures in his room ; and 
there is danger that even we, with the clearest revelation, may 
be guilty of idolatry in not lifting up our hearts to Him from 
whom " Cometh down every good gift, and every perfe£l gift." 
Let us ascribe the glory to God, and we may safely extol the 
man whose loss this day we deplore, 

K 



U WASHINGTONIANA. 

America claims as her own, one who was justly the admi- 
ration of the world. And shall she be silent in his praise ? 
Perhaps silence would have best expressed the merits of him 
who is beyond all eulogy. The language of mortals can with 
difficulty, if ever, reach so noble a theme. The name is above 
what Grecian or Roman story presents, and it would require 
more than Grecian or Roman eloquence to do it justice. One 
advantage indeed it possesses, that hardly any thing can be said 
which will be thought extravagant ; and what would, in other 
cases, be deemed flattery, will sink, far below the conceptions 
of the public mind. Flattery was ever confounded in the pre- 
sence of Washington, nor will it dare to approach his ashes. 
That humility, however, which was the constant ornament of 
his virtues, should not now obstruiS: the offerings of a feeling 
and grateful people at his shrine. Nay, they rush with greater 
eagerness to testify their sense of his transcendent and inesti- 
mable worth. 

To the historian it belongs to relate in full, the birth, the 
education, the early and the later atchievements of George 
Washington. From the historic page we expeft a minute de- 
sciiption of his civil and military, of his public and private life. 
Though a simple recital of these might be the highest enco- 
mium, and it might be said, 

" Rais'd of themselves^ their genuine charms they boast^ 
" And those ivbo paint them truest^ praise them most ;" * 

yet they would lead the speaker into too large a field ; he would 
not know what to selcdt, and what to refuse, where all power- 
fully solicited his regard. Let history or biography, at present, 
se.rve only to develope and illustrate the charadler. 

When God in his adorable providence intends to accomplish 
some glorious work upon earth, he provides and prepares his in- 
struments among the children of men. Who does not see that 
Moses, by the manner in which he was preserved, the instruc- 
tion which he received, and the habits of life to which he was 
inuredj was fitted to lead the people of Israel ? Who, that Cy- 

* AddisQu's Campaigiu 



WASHINGTONIANA. YS 

riis, had we not been expressly informed, was " girded by the 
Lord ?" The intention is frequently hidden from the persons 
themselves, and may not be obvious to others ; though they 
will sometimes discern presages of future greatness. Wash- 
ington was endued from his youth with a military spirit. When 
a stripling, like David, he encountered the enemies of his coun- 
try. His first destination was to enter as a midshipman in a 
British vessel of War. This was happily prevented, that so, 
instead of the admiral, he might become the general. He gave 
such early and uncommon indications of heroism as occasioned 
public mention of him by an eminent divine, in a discourse de- 
livered soon after Braddock's defeat.* The subjcft was reli- 
gion and patriotism. " As a remarkable instance," said he, 
" I may point out to the public that heroic youth colonel Wash- 
ington, whom I cannot but hope Providence has hitherto pre- 
served in so signal a manner, for some important service to his 
country." We will not call these words prophetic, but they have 
been repeatedly quoted as a testimony of the budding honors of 
the American hero. 

God prepared his servant, and in due time opened to him a 
vast scene, on which all his talents had their utmost exertion, 
and expanded in full display. It having become necessary for 
America to oppose by force the unjust pretensions of Britain, 
he was ele£led a member of the great council, and soon after 
unanimously appointed commander in chief of the armies. This 
honor his modesty forbade him to seek, and his love of country 
would not allow him to refuse. The choice was directed by 
heaven. " I feel great distress," said he on his acceptance of the 
command, "from a consciousness that my abilities and military 
experience may not be equal to the extensive and important 
trust : however, as the congress desire it, I will enter upon the 
momentous duty, and exert every power I possess in their ser- 
vice, and for support of the glorious cause." Modesty ever 
accompanies great merit ; and diffidence of abilities, when it 

* The Rev, Samuel Davies then settled in Virginia, and af' 
terivards president of the college of Neiv-Jersey. 



76 V/ASHINGTONIANA^ 

casts not into despondency, excites vigilance, and rouses ener- 
gies of soul concealed from the possessor himself. 

General Washingtok had not seen much military ser- 
vice, and what he had seen Avas on a small scale. His army for 
a long time was undisciplined, and continually changing by tem- 
porary enlistments, or impatient militia ; and sometimes he had 
scarcely the shadow of an army. He was destitute of the ne- 
cessaries for their support, and of the instruments of war. He 
was called to create before he could command. In this situa- 
tion he had to oppose the numerous and formidable legions of 
Britain, amply supplied with all the apparatus of death, and led 
on by the most renowned generals. The hero of Monongahela 
and the planter of Potowmac, nobly enters the list ; snatches 
the laurels which had been gathered in Europe to adorn his own 
brow. 

To estimate properly the merits of a general, we must atten- 
tlvelv consider the circumstances in which he is placed, and the 
means in his power. The American leader was never at the 
Iiead of such aimies as cover the fields of Europe. No ; with 
a naked and distressed handful, he kept the enemy in terror ; 
imposed on them by a parade of numbers and strength ; now 
sought security in retreat ; and noAV dared the fight ; " swifter 
than an eagle and stronger than a lion.'' He who thus baffled 
the acknowledged skill and bravery of Britons, would, furnished 
•vvith the means of war, march to the remotest ends of the earth. 

A\"e are willing to listen to the highest strains in favor of 
British valor, because these redound to tlie honor of our chief. 
Every wreath which is woven, is transferred to him. Either 
our invaders would not, or they could not subdue us. If they 
■wculd not, then they were unfaithful to their trust; if they 
could not, then the barrier was the American arms. AVili any 
rather chuse to compromise the matter, by resolving the inde- 
pendence of America into the decree of heaven ? Great God, 
we adore thy just decree I To thee was the appeal made 1 Thou 
didst fight for us!, In transport we cry, *«"The sword of the 
Lord, and of Gideon." 



WASHINGTONIANA. 77 

Permit me to say that he -whose obsequies we perfcirni, had 
advantages -which few enjoy. The cause in wliich he engaged 
-was of the most exalted kind, and he -was deeply penetrated 
ivith its justice and importance. He undertook not from mo- 
tives ox ambition or gain, but from the pure love of country, 
to which he continually sacrificed his ease, his safety and his 
life. 

His attention to the duties of his station was incessant, la 
the field no opportunity escaped him to harrass. or attack the 
enemy ; and he was never found unapprehensive of their designs, 
or unprepared to meet them. In winter quarters he revolved 
and digested the operations of the next campaign. He was not 
seen indulging in the amusements of a tlieatre, dissipating his 
time at a gaming table, or reclining on the lap of a Delilah. 
His bed at camp was often hard. He often laid down in his 
daily dress. * His horse stood equipped near liim. Or, he sat 
in council. Or, he examined the vigilance of his posts. Cr, 
he penned the dispatch. The concerns of America wholly oc- 
cupied his mind. Americans, you may well love him, for he 
saved you much blood and treasure. He Vv'atched for your safety 
-while you slept. 

His patience and perseverance were unexampled. To br 
obliged to retreat is at all times humiliating to a general, and 
dangerous to his fame. To him solely is calamity imputed. 
Though In condudling a retreat, the greatest skill is often dis- 
played ; yet this and the necessity are not generally known ; 
^nd a people animated with the love of liberty, arc apt to lie 
suspicious. Here was the great trial of Washington, and here 
a principal trait in his military charadler. He retreated from 
Long-Island in the face of a far superior foe. He retreated 
from Nevvf-York island in the.face of total ruin. And he car- 
ried the small and dejeftesl renialns of his army ; one while pre- 
senting a feeble front to the enemy, and another while retreat- 

* The night after the hatUe of Monmouth, he " reposed him- 
self in bis cloak, )).nder a. tree, in hopes of rer.c-^'in^ the action 
the next day." Ramsgj's Historj, 



n WASHINGTONIANA. 

ing, until he crossed the Delaware. No hope was left but in 
the presence of Washington, It pleased Gcd that he still lived ; 
and he was, perhaps, the only man who did not despair. If 
he had tumultuous passions, if fame was dearer to him than his 
life, what a conflidl was here ! What a viftory over himself I 
Whisperings and murmurings, Imputations of unskilfulness, of 
cowardice ; and, it may be, of unfaithfulness, were infinitely 
harder to bear, than to fight. These required a foi'titude su- 
perior to what was necessa'-y to meet death in any shape. To 
endure these shewed real greatness. Saul the first king of Is- 
rael, after his defeat at Mount Gilboa, slew himself with his 
own sword ; but Saul fell below Washington in every thing, ex- 
cept the towering size of his person, * 

The American chief, having colIec\ed a little strength, brav- 
ing the wintry waves and skies, recrosses the Delaware ; and, 
like an angry lion, chased by the huntsmen, springs upon the 
foe, and those who flee not perish by his stroke. A far-famed 
hero marches at the head of numerous and veteran troops, but 
arriving near night, waits only the next dawn to revenge the 
havoc. Let us be thankful that the American army was at this 
time so weak ; for had there been any thing like an equality 
to the enemy, or the most distant prospeft of success, the morn- 
ing sun 'had shone upon fields of carnage and blood. Washing- 
ton directing fires to be kindled in the night, and to be kept 
constantly burning, led his army by a circuitous road ; and his 
cannon at Princeton first awakened the drowsy Britons whoni 

* Saul " was higher than any of the people, from his should 
ders and upward.'' Washington was full six feet and half an 
inch in stature. The historians and orators have generally uen-r 
tioned his personal appearance. " His personal appearance i> 
noble and engaging." Gordon's History. " His person was con^ 
siderably above the middle size, but of a dignifed and graceful 
form." Strong's Discourse. ^^ His form was noble — bis port 
majestic." Morris's oration. " Mountain air, abundant eaper- 
cise in the open country — the wholesome toils of the chase, and the 
delightful scenes of rural life, expanded his limbs to an unusual 
but graceful and ivell proportioned size," Ramsay's History, 



WASHINGTONIANA. i9 

he had left. The frozen clod was stained on the march with 
blood from the naked feet of his men. * I'here was obtained 
another, though a dear bought viftory. There Hazelet and 
Mercer fell, two thunderbolts of war. Mercer I Let me lift 
the mantle from thy mangled body ! — Covered with wounds like 
Cxsar m the senate-house ! — Alas, not Csesar now, but Brutus 
fell I 

We find in general Washington a mind capable of planning 
and executing great enterprizes. " The world," says an histo- 
rian, " has been mistaken in one opinion respedling his excel- 
lency, whose natural tem.per possesses more of the Marcellus, 
and less of the Fabius, than has been generally imagined." t 
We are assured that he meditated designs which the resources 
of the country would not admit of being curried into effeft ; 
and whenever his force promised the Iqast impression, we see 
him either boldly receiving the enemy, or advancing to attack 
them. Witness the battles of Brandywine, of Germantown 
and of Monmouth. In these places, as well as at Haerlem and 
Princeton, he exposed himself to the thickest dangers, and 
courted a glorious death. A swell of passions had nearly buist 
his manly breast. He saw viflory, but had not the means to 
obtain it; he had vidlory, and it was suddenly snatched from 
his grasp. | 

* Dr. Ramsay in bis history mentions the same circumstan-ce 
as happening on another occasion. " The American army," sajs 
he, " might have been tracked^ by the blood of their feet., in 
marching without shoes or stockings over the hard frozen ground, 
between Whitemarsh and Valley-forge." 

t Gordon, 
\ When the enemy landed upon Ne-w-York island, the Ameri. 
cans fed before an inferior force. General Washington rode up 
and attempted.^ in vain., to rally them. This " raised a tempest 
in his usually tranquil mind. He hazarded his person for seme 
considerable time in rear of his own men, and in front of the 
enemy. His aids and the confidential friends around bis person^ 
by indirect violence, compelled him to retire. At Princeton, when 
the centre of the Americans, being briskly charged, gave way, 



so WASHINGTONIANA. 

At length God interposed for his relief, and enabled him to 
contend upon equal terms. Assisted by a fleet and some brave 
legions from France, he plans the capture of York-town in Vir- 
ginia, marches thither the allied army, and by one bold and de- 
cisive effort accomi^'lishes the deliverance of hi.i country. The 
-B^ritish hero, who had marked him as an easy prey at Trenton, 
finds now his numbers, his skill and his bravery unavailing ; he 
capiti:Iates at the cannon's month, and lays all his trophies a; 
the feet of Washington. How applicable to our hero are these 
lines — 

'• So ivhen an angel by di'vine command 

" JVit& 7-ising tempests shakes a guilty land., 

" Such as of late o'er pale Britannia pasty 

" Calm and serene be drives the furious blast ; 

** ylnd pleased the Almighty's orders to perform^ 

" Rules in the ^^vhirhvind and dirrets the storm," * 

As general Washington, like Ginciunatus, left his retirement 
and the p\irsuits of agriculture, merely for the service of his 
country, so when his work was finished, he returned with the 
mbst heart-felt satisfaflion. He reckoned himself overpaid for 
all h;s labors and hardships. How sweet this abode of rest and 
peace after the toil and din of arms I How far superior his fame 
to chat of Alexander or Cxsar I They fought for the sake of 
conquest, and to enslave mankind ; he, in defence of their just 
rights, and to make them happy. Tl.ey for personal aggran- 
dizement ; he, for the best good of others. Gjesar usurped the 
supreme dominion of the state ; Washington returned to the 
Station of a private citizen. Hear his words at the resignation 
of his commission to congress : " I consider It as an indispen- 
sible duty to close this last solemn a£l of my official life, by 
commending the interests of cur dearest country to the protec- 

he placed himself between bis own men and the British., with bis 
borses head fronting the latter. The Americans, eacouraged by 
bis example and exhortations, made a stand and returned the 
British fin. The general, though between both parties, was pro* 
vidcntially uninjnred by either." Ramsay's History, 
* Addison's Campaign » 



WASHINGTONIANAi 81 

iion of Almighty God, and those who have the siiperintendance 
bf them to his holy kcrplng. 

<* Having' now fiuLs-hed the work assigned irie, I retire frorri 
;the great t,heatre of a<Slioa ; and bidding an affedlionate fare- 
well to this aygwst body, under whose orders I have long 
afted, I here offer my commission, aud take my leave of all the 
employments of public life." So he wished and , naturally 
ihought, but he had not yet finished all the work which God 
bad assigned him. In entering again upon public life, he is in- 
fluenced by the same modesty and disinterested motives. He 
does not thrust himself forward to view, but submits to the 
claim, and obeys the loud call of his fellow-citizens. He de-i 
cliaes, as formerly, any compensation for his services. In this 
Way he evinces- true patriotism, disarms envy, and enhances uni- 
versal esteem. 

WHE^f he retired from the command of the army, every one 
Supposed that he had attained to the pinnacle of greatness, and 
would recline in safety the remainder of his days beneath a 
shade of laurels at Mount-Vernpn ; but we behold him renounc- 
ing his retirement, and putting all his fame at risk. This was, 
perhaps, the most magnanimous action of his life, and eclipsed 
even his military lustre. By first assisting in framing a govern- 
ment, the blessings of which we now enjoy, and then giving 
stability and energy to that government, by accepting the of- 
fice of chief magistrate at two different times, he secured to his 
country all the consequences expected from the revolution. No 
man can conceive the maghanimity of this cbiidufl, but he who 
ajiproaches in some measure to the greatness of Washington. 

During the time which elapsed between his first military ex- 
ploits and the. revolutionary war, he had been attentive to the 
science of gove;:nn>ent and employed in affairs of state. The 
business therefore was not altogether new to hiiu. He had be- 
sides the most excellent judgment, the most consummate pru-i 
dence, and knew better than any man how to make the infor- 
mation aud experience of others his own. He comprehended^ 

L 



82 WASHIN+GTONIANA. 

he separated, he cornbined, he Aveighed, he decided, and his de- 
cision was ever wise aiid unshaken. 

The question will be agitated bv posterity, Whether he vas 
The g-reater general or statesman ? Those Avho read his official 
letters, his addresses when he retired from the army, and from 
the prtsidr-ncy ; and who ;ire intimately rcquainted with his ad- 
ministration, will be inclined to pronounce in favor of the lat- 
ter^ Those who h^ve not duly considered these, and more nar- 
rowly survey his difficulties and success in war, will be inclined 
to pronounce in favor of the former. The controversy can be 
settled only by admitting that he was " first in war, and first 
in peace." 

Under his administration the offices of government were fil- 
led by the first talents v>'hich could be found ; or the best which 
the economy of the government could command ; and, let it 
not be deemed too bold, by some of the greatest talents in the 
world. Under his administration America was prosperous and 
happy. It was impossible that the expeftations of all could be 
gratified, and the opinions of all followed. The season was pe- 
culiarly tempestuous, and the rocks many and dangerous. The 
pilot was wise and firm, having always in view, as his pole-star, 
the public good. When we consider the information which is 
necessary to judge of public measures, the clashing of the in- 
terests of men, and the fatal influence of prejudice and passion 
on their minds, we are astonished at his unspotted fame. 

How modest and beautiful are his words in that precious le- 
gacy which he left us at his resignation. See appendix, p. 33. 

W^HO, on hearing these words, is not tempted to exclaim — 
Washington, live for ever ! — His fame, Indeed, is immortal. 
Posterity will see, with rapture, sculptured on his tomb, wisdom, 
liberty and justice. 

Another time he retires with the benediftion of millions. 
Eight years he wielded the sword — eight years he held the reins 
of government. The stormy sea was passed, and he resigns the 



WASHINGTONIANA, 83 

helm to other nanus. If desire always prompted, Increasing age 
seemeJ to render it necessary that he should seek repose. Or, 
•was it that he might enforce, by his example, the virtues and 
duties of a private life ? That he might teach us industry, tem- 
perance, charity and economy ? To be afFetftionare husbnnds and 
tender masters ? That on the faithful performance each one of 
bis several relations, depends personal and public happiness ? — . 
V/hom do we see in yonder fields near the waters of the Potov^- 
mac, surrounded by a group of laborers ? It is the late illustri- 
ous commander of the armies, and the late chief magistrate of 
the United States. How august the spe^acle ! Citizens of A- 
jnerica, venerate the sickle and the plough, for they have been 
dignified not only by the heroes and patriarchs of old, but by 
the father of your country ! 

Though naturally reserved, yet he was not haughty. Though 
those who approached him felt his superiority, yet he did not as- 
sume. He blended dignity and condescension. The greatest 
and the smallest objeAs received from him a due attention. He 
never betrayed any symptoms of vain glory. When he was once 
asked, whether he had ever said, as was reported, " that he 
knew no music so pleasing as the whistling of bullets," he an- 
swered, " If I said so, it was when I was young." * Learn- 
ing to estimate justly all human glory, and matured by expe- 
rience ; accustomed to lofty conceptions, and moving always in 
the important spheres of life ; impressed with a sense that he 
derived all from God, and that all should be devoted to his ser- 
vice ; his deportment was noble, equally removed from the su-. 
percilious and the vain. Some men have been great at one time, 
and despicable at another ; some men have performed a siijgle 
great aftion, and never rose to the like again ; but to him great 
adlions seemed common. Some men have appeared great at the 
liead of armies, or when surrounded by the trappings of power, 
and little when stripped of these, and alone j some men have 
withstood the storms of adversity, and been melted by the sun- 
shine of prosperity ; some men have possessed splendid public 
talt^ntSj and disgraced these by sordid private vices j but it is 
* Gordon's History,, 



84 WASHINGTONIANA. 

difFxult to determine when and where Washington shone the 
brightest. It can only be said, that he was uniformly great. 

One part of his charafter remains to be mentioned, and which 
crowns the whole ; that is, his reverence for the Sabbath, his 
acknowledgment of a Providence, and his attendance upon the 
institutions of religion. In all his public documents God is ho- 
nored ; after deliverances or viftories, thanksgivings were by his 
order offered ; and it is well known that he invariably attended 
divine worship. The foolish and wicked cant of exalting hu- 
man reason, and ascribing all to fortune, received from him no 
countenance. Neither in the parade of military life, nor in the 
cares of civil administration ; neither in a state of depression, 
nor amidst the intoxicating sweets of power and adulation, did 
he forget to pay homage to '' the Most High, who doe'.h accord- 
ing to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants 
of the earth." It is not wholly improbable that the fate of the 
unhappy Braddock, who, it is said, expres;:eci himself in a boast- 
ing and profane manner, left on the mind of young Washing- 
ton an indelible impression. " Thus saith the Lord, Let not 
the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man 
glory in his might ; let not the rich man glory in his riches : 
But let him that glorieth, glory in this, that he understa'ndeth 
and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise loving 
kindness, judgment and righteousnebs, in the earth." * 

Hear the testimony which Washington bore for religion on 
his resignation of the chief magistracy. See appendix, p. 27, 

Incomparable man ! He devoted his time, his talents and 
his labors to our service ; and he hath left his tdvice and his 
example to us, and to all generations ! 

There was in him that assemblage of qualities which con- 
stitutes real greatness ; and these qualities were remarkably 
adapted to the conspicuoas part which he was called to perform. 
He was not tinsel, but gold ; not a pebble, but a diamond ; not 
ct meteor, but a sun. Were he compared with the sages and 
*■ Jer. ix. 23, 24. 



V/ASHINGTONfANA. 85 

tlie heroes of antiqiuty, he would gain by the comp?>risoo ; or, 
rather, he would be found to be free from the blemishes, and 
to unite the excellencies of them all. Like Fabius he was pru- 
dent ; like Hannibal he was unappalled by difficulties ; like Cy- 
rus he conciliated affedlion ; like Cimon he was frugal ; like 
Scipio he was chaste ; Like Pliilopemen he was humble ; and 
like Pompey he was successful. If we compare him with cha- 
rafters in the sacred records, he combined the exploits of Muses 
and Joshua, not only by conducing us safely across the Red 
Sea and through the wilderness, but by bringing us into the 
promised land. Like David iie conquered an insulting Goliah, 
and rose to the highest honors from an humble station ; like 
Hezekiah he ruled ; and like (osiah at his death, there is a 
mourning " as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of 
Megiddon." Noi' is the mourning confined to us, but extends 
to all the wise and the good who ever heard of his name. The 
generals whom he opposed will wrap their hilts in black, and 
stern Gornwailis drop a tear. 

He was honored even in death. After all his fatigues, and 
though he hud arrived near to the limit fixed for human life, * 
yet his understanding was not imjiaired, nor his frame wasted 
by any lingering disease. We did not hear of his sickness, un- 
til we heard that he was no more. His acceptance of the of- 
fice of lieutenant-general of the armies is a proof that " Save 
my countj-y, heaven," was his last. What would have been to 
most men the meridian of glory, was the setting sun of Wash- 
ington. With an increased orb, its parting rays paint the clouds 
with brightest colours, and Illumine all the mountain tops.— . 
In the full possession of his reason, and without fear of death, 
■ which he had often faced in the field, he breathed his mighty 
soul into the hands of his almighty and merciful creator. 

Hark ! — A message from the tomb ! — 

" Citizens of America, 
*' You are assembled to express your gratitude for services 
which you believe to have been rendered by me, and to testify 

* He ivas born Feb. 22dj 1732 ; accepted the command of the 
American army, June \&thy 1775, in the As^th year of his age ; 
^nd died Dec. Mth, 1799, in the Q8th year of his age. 



86 WASHINGTONIANA. 

your sorrow for my death. Next to the testimony of a good 
conscience, it was ever the summit of my wishes to deserve well 
of my country. But, let your gratitude ascend to Him who 
fashioned me as I was, who kept nie under his holy protection, 
and who hath, in his sovereign will, recalled me from the earth. 
My career was much longer than might have been ejtpecfVed. 
It was anxious ; it was laborious ; it was we arisome — I now rest. 

" Let the love you bore me, the confidence you were pleased 
always to repose in me, and the regard you now profess for my 
memory, be shewn in following those admonitions which I have 
given you, and which I endeavored to enforce by my own ex- 
ample. Banish party interest and party spirit. Suffer no fo- 
reign influence to affecl your councils. Give support and sta-. 
bility to your governruent. Honor and reward your public of- 
ficers. Pay the strictest attention to the injunftions of religion 
and morality. Then, under the propitious smiles of heaven, 
you will long be a flourishing and happy people." 

Thus, methinks, our deceased father addresses us this day. 

In the eighteenth century have flourished a number of the 
most eminent philosophers, historians, orators, poets, patriots, 
and statesmen ; the close of it has been eventful and astonish- 
ing beyond all precedent. In the end of the fifteenth century, 
Columbus discovered this new world ; in the end of the eigh- 
teenth, "Washington arose to give Columbia independence and 
rank among the nations. To the lustre of so many names, and 
to a period of such wonderful events, he joins his blaze. Me- 
morable HJia! The age of great men, the age of extraordinary 
revolutions, the age of Washington ! 

Hk outlived many of his compatriots. Warren fell an early- 
martyr. Hardy Putnrjn, brave Stirling, a£tive Sullivan, patri- 
otic M'Dougall, incorruptible Reed, * Wayne, chief of Stony- 

* This gentleman, ivben a large bribe vjas indirectly offered 
him, ans<wered, " lam net worth purchasing, but such as I am, 
the king of Great-Britain is not rich enough to do it." ^a»t"^ 
saj's and Gordon's Histories, 



WASHINGTONIANA. 87 

Point, Thomas, Nash, Wooster, Spencer, Thompson, Cadwal- 
lader, MifHin, have all bowed to death* Undaunted Snialhvood 
and Morgan, Butler surprised by a savage foe and brave in 
death ; Steuben bred in European camps, skilled in military dis- 
cipline, an adopted and favorite son, born alike to form the 
battle's dread arrriy, and grace the festive board ; De Kalb, Pu- 
laski, Scammel, Armstrong, Parsons, Gist, Poor, Maxwell, Wil- 
liams, Glover, Herkimer, Stark, Yarnum, Woodford " How 

are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished 1" * 

Montgomery's career was short but glorious. On Abraham's 
plains he found with Wolfe a deathless fame. Greene the great 
compeer and friend of Washington survived the war, but lived 
not to enjoy its fruits under a well-balanced goverilment. He 
too sought the shade, and cultivated the arts of peace, after 

* Tbis enumeration is not pretended to be complete ; and it 
*iviis impossible to give every one bis due praise. Only general 
oncers are mentioned, of rvbom nijie were slain in the field, 
Tbose wbo contributed to the revolution by their councils are omit- 
ted ; of ivbom there is a long and venerable list. Praise to liv- 
ing characters is purposely avoided. Death will stanip their va- 
lue, and posterity duly estimate their merits. 

In this list, it would be needless to say to those 'ivho knew binif 
that Armstrong combined, in a high degree, the great and ami- 
able qualities. His age, and other circumstances, prevented his 
taking a large and conspicuous part in the American ivar ; but 
he bad the confidence of Washington ; and, like him, gave proofs 
of a military spirit at an early period. He conducted the expe- 
dition against the Kittaning, an Indian town, and was highly 
honored by the proprietaries of Pennsylvania for his gallant be- 
havior. On this occasion be and Merctr were both xvounded. He 
had a principal share either in advising or directing all the sub- 
sequent expeditions. He commanded the Pennsylvania militia at 
the battle of Gcrmantown ; ajid it is a fact not generally known-^ 
that the fort on Sullivan's island, S. C. would have been evacu- 
ated as indefensible had it not been Jor bim and the brave Col. 
Moultrie. His chief glory, however, i»as that he " fought the 
good fight of faith," and is gone with the famous Col. Gardiner^ 
whom be greatly resembled, to receive an immortal crown. 



■«6 -WASHlNGtONIANA. 

obtahiing a fame everlasting as the high hills of Saiitee^ and 
•^ui'e as tlie Eutaw spiings. 

" In hours of peace content to he imknonvn, 

" And only in the jield of battle shewn : 

" To svtils like these in mutual friendship joined, 

*' Heav'n dare? entrust the cause of human kind." * 

vVhy should I mention others ? Or >vny have I mentioned these ? 
Our griefs are all absorbed in tiiee, O Washington ! — ^-There is 
Hot such another to die. Few such have ever existed in any 
age. The world lessened when he died. 

" Death, pre. thou hast kill'd another 
'• Wne and great, and good as he, 
" Time shall throw a dart at thee," f 

Ye Cincinnati, his companions in arms, and sharers in his 
glory, what scents does this day bring to your remembrance ! 
In imagination you suiFcr all the toil?, and fight the battles over 
again. Before you moves the majestic and graceful man ; 
graceful when he steps, more graceful when he mounts the pranc- 
ing steed. Serene at all times, most serene in misfortunes and 
danger. The cares of America appear on his brow, and he wears 
her defence by his side. Ah 1 had he been captured by the 
enemy, your gleamy swords would have been drawn for his res- 
cue. Or, had he been exposed in the front of battle, you would 
have shielded him with your own bodies ; and had he fallen, a 
thousand viJlims had avenged his death. Against jzafwra/ death 

you could interpose no shield Seek not to restrain your tears. 

'Tis scldier-like now to weep — True courage and sensibility are 
intimately connected — Your general, your father, and your friend 

• — is — no more The last time he and his band of brothers 

were all together, you followed him with pensive countenances 
to the banks of the Hudson, and on his entering the barge he 
turned towards you, and by waving his haf, bade you a silent 
adieu. He now bids you an adieu — for ever* Imitate him in 
his love of country, in all his private and public virtues ; and. 
then, like him, you will live beloved, and die lamented. 

* Addison's Campaign* 
t An epitaph of Ben Johnson's altered* 



WASHINGTONIANA. 8d 

Come, ye fair daughters of America, weep for Washington* 
He saved your parents, friends and lovers. Come, mingle vouf 
tears with the adored partner of his cares and joys at Mount- 
V^ernon— — 

Come all, and take a last look. Many of you remember his 
triumphant entry into this city after the evacuation, and what 
pleasure then swelled your besoms. You remember his second 
entry when he accepted the presidency of the United States. 
You pressed to see him. To the officer of the guard appointed 
to attend him on his landing, he said, " My guard is the affec- 
tion of my fellow-citizens." There, indeed, he reigned with- 
out control. There, indeed, he had a security, and a testimony 
of his worth, more valuable and durable than the pomp and 
power of kings can afford. There he will live while there re- 
iTiains one of the present generation ; and the faithful historian 
will hand down his fame to the latest ages. The name of Wash- 
ington will be revered while the American empire endures ; 
yea, until this globe itself be wrapt in the last fires, and the 
angel shall " swear by him that liveth for ever and ever, that 
time shall be no longer." 



Oration on the sublime virtues of general George WASHlNG^oi^i 

pronounced at the Old South mteting-bouse in Boston^ before bis 
honor the lieutenant-governor^ the council, and the two branches 
of the legislature of Massachusetts, By Fisher Ames. 

IT is natural that the gratitude of mankind should be drawn 
to their benefaftors. A number of these have succes- 
sively arisen, who were no less distinguished for the elevation 
of their virtues, than the lustre of their talents. Of those 
however who were born, and who adled through life, as if 
they were born, not for them.selves, but for their country and 
the whole human race, how few, alas ! are recorded in th» long 

M 



90 WASHINGTONIANA. 

annals of ages, and how wide the intervals of time and sipitt 
that divide them ! In alPthis dreary length of way, they ap* 
pear like five or six light-houses on as many thousand miles of 
coast : they gleam upon the surrounding darkness, with an in- 
extinguishable splendor, like stars seen through a mist ; but they 
are seen like stars, to cheer, to guide, and to save. Washing- 
ton is now added to that small number. Already he attrafts cu- 
riosity, like a newly-discovered star, whose benignant light will 
travel on to the world's and time's farthest bounds. Already 
his name is hung up by history, as conspicuously as if it sparkled 
in one of the constellations of the sky. 

By commemorating his death, we are called this day to yield 
the homage that is due to virtue ; to confess the common debt 
of mankind as well as our own ; and to pronounce for posterity, 
now dumb, that eulogium, which they will delight to echo, ten 
ages hence, when we are dumb. 

I CONSIDER myself not merely in the midst of the citizens of ' 
this town, or even of the state. In idea, I gather round ine 
the nation. In the vast and venerable congregation of the pa- 
triots of all countries and of all enlightened men, I would, if 
I could, raise my voice, and speak to mankind in a strain wor- 
thy of my audience, and as elevated as my subjeft. But how 
shall I express emotions, that are condemned to be mute, be- 
cause they are unutterable ? I felt, and I was witness, on the 
day when the news of his death reached us, to the throbs of that 
grief, that saddened every countenance, and wrung drops of 
agony from the heart. Sorrow labored for utterance, but found 
none. Every man looked round for the consolation of other 
men's tears. Gracious heaven ! what consolation 1 each face 
■was convulsed with sorrow for the past ; every heart shivered 
with despair for the future. The man who, and who alone, 
" united all hearts, was dead; dead! at the moment when his 
power to do good was the greatest, and when the aspe£l of the 
imminent public dangers seemed more than ever to render his 
aid indispensible, and his loss irreparable ! irreparable ; for two 
Washington's come not in one age. 



WASHINGTONIANA. ?l 

A GRIFF SO thoughtful, so profound, so m-nglecl with ten- 
derness and admiration, so interwoven with our national self- 
love, so often revived by being diffused, is not to be expressed. 
You have assigned me a task that is impossible. 

O !. IF I could perform it, if I could illustrate hi? principles.in 
my discourse, as he displayed them in his life ; if I could paint 
his virtues as he pradtlsed them ; if I could convert the fervid 
enthusiasm of my heart into the talent to transmit his fame, as 
it ought to pass to posterity ; I should be the successful organ 
of your will, the minister of his virtues, and, may 1 dare to say^ 
the humble partal^^r of his immortal glory. These are ambi- 
tious, deceiving hopes, and I rejeft them. For it is perhaps al- 
most as difficult, at once with judgment and feeling, to praise 
great anions, as to perform, them. AJavish and undistinguish- 
ing eulogium is not praise ; and to discriminate such excellent 
qualities as were charadteristic and peculiar to him, would be 
to raise a name, as he raised it, above envy, above parallel, per- 
haps, for that very reason, above emulation. 

Such a pourtraying of charafter, however, must be addres- 
sed to the understanding, and therefore, even if it were well 
executed, would seem to be rather an analysis of moral princi- 
ples, than the recital of an hero's exploits. It v/ould rather 
conciliate confidence and esteem, than kindle enthusiasm and 
admiration. It would be a pidure of Washington : and, like 
a pidlure, flat as the canvass ; like a statue, cold as the marble 
on which he is represented ; cold, alas, as his corpse in the 
ground. Ah, how unlike the man late warm with living virtues, 
animated by the soul once glowing with patriotic fires ! He is 
gone ! the tomb hides all, that the world could scarcely con- 
tain, and that once was Washington, except his glory ; that 
is the rich inheritance of his country; and his example j that 
let us endeavor by delineating to impart to mankind. Virtue 
■will place it in her temple, wisdom in her treasury. 

Peace then to your sorrows. I have done with them. Deep, 
as your grief is, 1 aim not to be pathetic. I desire less to give; 
\itterance to the feelings of this age, than to the judgment of 



92 WASHINGTONIANA. 

the next. Let us faithfully represent the illustrious dead, a,s 
history will paint, as posterity will behold him. 

With whatever fidelity I might execute this task, I know 
that some would prefer a piclure drawn to the imagination. 
They would have our Washington represented of a giant's size, 
and in the (harafter of a hero of romance. T!)ey who love to 
■wonder better than to reason, would not he satisfied with the 
contemplation of a great example, unless, in the exhibition, it 
should be so distorted into prodigy, as to be both incredible and 
useless. Others, I hope but few, who think meanly of human 
nature, will deem it incredible, that even Washington should 
think with as much dignity and elevation, as he adted ; and they 
■will grovel in vain in the search for mean and selfish motives, 
that could incite and sustain him to devote his life to his coun- 
try. 

Do not these suggestions sound in your ears like a profana- 
tion of virtue ? and, while I pronounce them, do you not feel a 
thrill of indignation at your hearts ? Forbear. Time never fails 
to bring every exalted reputation to a stri(5\: scrutiny : the v/orld, 
in passing the judgment that is never to be reversed, will deny 
all partiality, even to the name of Washington. Let it be de- 
nied : for its justice will confer glory. 

Such a life as Washington's cannot derive honor from the 
circumstances of birth and education, though it throws back a 
lustre on both. With an inquisitive mind, that always profited 
by the lights of others, ane was uncloiided by passions of its 
own, he acquired a maturity of judgment, rare in age, unparal- 
lelled in youth. Perhaps no young man had so early laid up a 
lifes stock of materials for solid refleftion, or settle vl so soon 
the principles and habits of his condu£\. Grey experience lis- 
tened to his counsels with respeft ; and, at a time -when youth is 
almost privileged to be rash, Virginia committed the safetv of 
her frontier, and ultimately the safety of America, not merely 
to his valor, for that would be scarcely praise ; but to his pry-, 
^ence, 



WASHINGTONIANA. 93 

It is not in Indian wars that heroes are celebrated ; but it is 
there tliey are formed. No enemy can be more formidable, by 
the craft of his ambushes, the suddenness of his onset, or the 
ferocity of his vengeance. The soul of Washington Avas thus 
exercised to danger ; and on the first trial, as on every other, 
it appeared firm in adversity, cool in aclion, undaunted, self- 
possessed. His spirit, and still more his prudence, on' the oc- 
casion of Rraddock's defeat, diffused his name throughout Ame- 
rica, and across the Atlantic. Even then his country viewed 
him with complacency, as her most hopeful son. 

At the peace of 1763, Great-Bcitain, inconsequence of her 
vidlories, stood in a position to prescribe her own terms. She 
chose, perhaps, better for us than herself: for by expelling the 
French from Canadi, we no longer feared hostile neighbors; 
and we soon found just cause to be afraid of our proteflors. 
We discerned even then a truth, which the condudl of France 
has since so strongly confirmed, that there is nothing which the 
gratitude of weak states can give, that will satisfy strong al- 
lies for their aid, but authority. Nations that want proteclors, 
will have masters. Our settlements, no longer checked by ene- 
mies on the frontier, rapidly encreased ; and it was discovered, 
that America was growing to a size that could defend itself. 

In this, perhaps unforeseen, but at length obvious state of 
things, the British government conceived a jealousy of the co- 
lonies, of which, and of their intended measures of precaution, 
they made no secret. 

Thus it happened, that their foresight of the evil aggravated 
its symptoms, and accelerated its progress. The colonists per- 
ceived that they could not be governed, as before, by affedlion ; 
and resolved that tliey would not be governed bv force. No- 
bly resolved 1 foii had we submitted to the British claims of 
right, we should have had, if any, less than our antient liberty ; 
and held what might have been left by a worse tenure. 

Our nation, like its great leader, had only to take counsel 
from its courage. When Washington heard the voice of his 



^94 WASHINGTONIANA. 

country in distress, liis, obedience was prompt ; and tliongh hia 
sacrifices were great, they cost him no effort. Neither the oh- 
je£l nor ths limits of my plan, permit me to dilate on the mili,- 
tary events of the revolutionary war. Our history is biit a 
transcript of his claims on our gratitude. Our hearts bear tes- 
timony, that they are clainis not to be satisfied. When pv.er- 
matched by numbers, a fugitive, with a litilc band of faithfijl 
soldiers ; the states as ruich exhausted as dismayed ; he ex- 
plored his own undaunted heart, and found there resources to 
retrieve our aftairs. We have seen him display as much valor 
as gives fame to lieroes, and as consummate prudence as ensures 
success to valor ; fearless of dangers that were personal to him ; 
hesitating and cautious, when they affedled his country ; pre- 
ferring fame before safety or repose ; and duty, before fame. 

Rome did not owe more to Fabius than America to Wash- 
ington. Our nation shares with him the singular glory of hav- 
ing conducted a civil war with mildness, and a revolution with 
order. 

The event of that Avar seemed to crown the felicity and glory 
both of America and its chief. Until that contest, a great part 
of the civilized world had been surprizingly ignorant of the 
force and character, and almost of the existence, of the British 
colonies. They had not retained what they knew, nor felt cu- 
riosity to know the state of thirteen wretched settlements, which 
vast woods enclosed, and still vaster woods divided from each 
other. They did not view the colonists so much a people, as 
a race of fugitives, whom want and solitude, and intermixture 
■with the savages, had made barbarians. Great-Britain, they 
saw, was elate with her victories : Europe stood in awe of her 
power : her arms made the thrones of the most powerful un- 
steady, and disturbed the tranquillity of their states, with an 
agitation more extensive than an earthquake. As the giant 
Enceladus is fabled to lie under Etna, and to shake the moun- 
tain when he turns his limbs, her hottility was felt to the exr 
tremities of the world. It reached to both the Indies ; in the 
wilds of Africa, it obstructed the commerce in slaves ; the whales 
finding, in time of war, a respite from their pursuers, Qq^\^ 



WASHINGTONIANA. §$ 

ventiire to sport between the tropics, and did not flee, as in 
peace, to hide beneath the ice-fields of the polar circle. 

At this time, while Great-Britain wielded a force not infe- 
rior to that of the Roman empire, vinder Trajan, suddenly, asto-^ 
nished Europe beheld a feeble people, 'till then unknown, stand 
forth, and defy this giant to the combat. It was so une- 
qual, all expected it would be short. The events of that war 
were so many miracles, that attra£led, as much perhaps as any- 
war ever did, the wonder of mankind. Our final success ex- 
alted their admiration to its highest point : they allowed to 
Washington all that is due to transcendent virtue, and to the 
Americans more than is due to human nature. They considered 
us a race of Washingtons, and admitted that nature in Ame- 
rica was fruitful only in prodigies. Their books and their tra- 
vellers, exaggerating and distorting all their representations, 
assisted to establish the opinion, that this is a new world, with 
a new order of men and things adapted to it ; that here v/e prac- 
tice industry, amidst the abundance that requires none ; that 
we have morals so refined, that we do not need laws ; and though 
we have them, yet we ought to consider their execution as an 
insult and a wrong ; that we have virtue without weakness^ 
sentiment without passions, and liberty without faftions. These 
allusions, in spite of their absurdity, and, perhaps, because they 
are absurd enough to have dominion over the imaginaticn only, 
have been received by many of the malecontents against tlte 
governments of Europe, and induced them to emigrate. Such 
allusions are too soothing to vanity, to be entirely checked in 
their currency among Americans. 

They have been pernicious, as they cherish false ideas of 
the rights of men and the duties of rulers. They have led the 
citizens to look for liberty, where it is not ; and to consider 
the government, which is its castle, as its prison. 

Washington retired to Mount-Vernon, and the eyes of the 
world followed him. He left his countrymen to their simplicity 
and their passions, and their glory soon departed. Europe be- 
gan to be undeceived, and it seemed for a time, as if, by the 



96 WASHINGTONIANA* 

acquisition of independence, our citizens were disappointed* 
The confederation was then the only compact made *' to form 
a perfeft union of the states, to establish justice, to ensure the 
tranquillity, and provide for the security, of the nation ; and 
accordingly, union was a name that still commanded reverence, 
though not obedience. 'J'he system called justice was, in some 
of the states, iniquity reduced to elementary principles ; and 
the public tranquillity was such a portentous calm, as rings in 
deep caverns before the explosion of an earthquake. Most of 
the states then weie in fatt, though not in form, unbalanced de- 
mocracies. Reason, it is true, spoke audibly in their constitu- 
tions ; passion and prejudice louder in their laws. It is to the 
honor of Massachusetts, that it is chargeable with little devia- 
tion from i:)rinciples. Its adherence to them was one of the 
causes of a dangerous rebellion. It was scarcely possible that 
such governments should not be agitated by parties, and that 
prevailing parties should not be vindiftive and unjust. Accord- 
ingly, in some of the states, creditors were treated as outlaws; 
bankrupts were armed with legal authority to be persecutors ; 
and, bv the shock of all confidence and faith, society was shaken 
to its foundations. Liberty we had ; but we dreaded its abuse 
almost as much as its loss ; and the wise, who deplored the one, 
clearly foresaw the other. 

The states were also becoming formidable to each other. 
Tribute, under the name of impost, was for years levied by 
some of the commercial states upon their neighbors. — Measures 
of retaliation were resorted to, and mutual recriminations bad 
begun to whet the resentments, whose never failing progress 
among states is more injustice, vengeance and war. 

The peace of America hung by a thread, and fatftions were 
already sharpening their weapons to cut it. The projeft of three 
separate empires in America was beginning to be broached, and 
the progress of licentiousness would have soon rendered her ci- 
tizens unfit for liberty in either of them. An age of blood and 
misery would have punished our disunion : But these were not 
the considerations to deter ambition from its purpose, while 



WASHINGTONIANA.. 9T 

there were so many circumstances in our political situation to 
favor it. 

' At this awful crisis, which all the wise so much dreaded at 
the time, yet which appears, on a retrospedl, so much mors 
dreadful than their fears ; some man was wanting, who posses- 
sessed a commanding power over the popular passions, but over 
whom those passions had no power — that man was Washington. 

His name, at the head of such a list of vvorthies as would 
reflect honor on any country, had its proper weight with all the 
enlightened, and with almost all the well-disposed among the 
less informed citizens ; and, blessed be God I the constitution 
was adopted. Yes, to the eternal honor of America among 
the nations of the earth, it was adopted, in spite of the obsta- 
cles which, in any other country, and perhaps in any other age 
than this, would have been insurmountable ; in spite of the 
doubts and fears, which well meaning prejudice creates for itself, 
a.nd which party so artfully inHames into stubbornness ; in spite 
of the vice, which it has subjedled to restraint, and which is 
therefore its immortal and implacable foe ; in spite of the oli- 
garchies in some of the states, from whom it snatched domi- 
nion ; it was adopted, and our country enjoys one more invalu- 
able chance for its union and happiness': invaluable ! if the re- 
trospeft of the dangers we have ^scaped, shall sufficiently incul- 
cate the principles we have so tardily established. Perhaps mul- 
titudes are not to be taught by their fears only, without sufFerr 
ing much to deepen the impression : for experience brandishes 
in her school a whip of scorpions, and teaches nations her sum- 
mary lessons of wisdom by the scars and wounds of their adverr 
sity. 

The amendments which ha%'e been projefted in some of the 
states shew, that in them at least, these lessons are not well re* 
membered. In a c.onfederacy of states, some powerful, others 
weak, the weakness of the federal union will, sooner or later, 
encourage, and will not restrain, the ambition and injustice of 
the members. The weak can no otherwise be strong or safe, 
but in the energy of the national government. It is this defetSt, 

N 



98 WASHINGTONIANA. 

which the blind jealousy of the weak states not unfrequiC^tiy 
contributes to prolong — that has jjroved fatal to all the confede- 
rations that ever existed. 

Although it was impossible that such merit as Washing- 
ton's should not produce envy, it was scarcely possible that, 
with such a transcendent reputation, he should have rivals. Ac- 
cordingly, he was unanimously chosen president of the United 

States. 

As a general and a patriot, the measure of his glory was al- 
ready full ; there was no fame left for him to excel but his own, 
and even that task, the mightiest of all his labors, his civil ma- 
gistracy has accomplished* 

No sooner did the new government begin Its auspicious course, 
than order seemed to arise out of confusion. The governments 
of Europe had seen the old confederation sinking, squalid, and 
pale, into the tomb, when they beheld the new American re- 
public rise suddenly from the ground, and, throwing off its 
grave clothes, exhibiting the stature and proportions of a young 
giant, refreshed with sleep. Com.merce and industry awoke, 
and were cheerful at their labors ; for credit and confidence 
awoke with them. Every where was the appearance of prospe- 
rity ; and the only fear was, that its progress was too rapid, to 
consist with the purity and simplicity of antient manners. The 
cares and labors of the president v^ere incessant : his exhorta- 
tions, example and authority, were employed to excite zeal and 
aAivity for the public service : able officers were seleded, only 
for their merits ; and some of them remarkably distinguished 
themselves by their successful management of the public busi- 
ness. Government was administered with such integrity, with- 
out mystery, and in so prosperous a course, that it seemed to 
be wholly employed in ads of beneficence. Though it has made 
many thousand malecontents, it has never, by its rigor or in- 
justice, made one man wretched. 

Such was the state of public affairs ; and did it not seem per- 
fe£lly to ensure uninterrupted harmony to the citizens ? Did 



WASHINGTONIANA. 99 

they not, in respeit to their government, and its administra- 
tion, possess their %Yhole heart's desire ? They had seen and suf- 
fered long fhe want of an efficient constitution ; they had freely 
ratified it : they saw Washington, their tried friend, the father 
of his country, invested with its powers. They knew that he 
eould not exceed or betray them, without forfeiting his own 
reputation. Consider, for a moment, what a reputation it was : 
such as no man ever before possessed by so clear a title, and in 
so high a degree. His fame seemed in its purity to exceed 
even its brightness ; office took honor from his acceptance, but 
conferred none. Ambition stood awed and darkened by his sha- 
dow. For where, through the wide earth, was the nian so vain 
as to dispute precedence with him ? or what were the honors 
that could make the possessor Washington's superior ? Refined 
and complex as the ideas of virtue are, even the gross could 
discern in his life the Infinite superiority of her rewards. Man- 
kind perceived some change in their ideas of greatness ; the 
splendor of power, and e\xn of the name of conqueror, had 
grown 4ir" in their eyes. They did not know that Washings 
ton could augment his fame ; but they knew and felt, that the 
world's wealthj and its empire too, would be a bribe far beneath 
his acceptance. 

This is not exaggeration : never Avas confidence in a man 
and a chief magistrate jnore widely diffused, or more solidly 
established. 

If it had been In the nature of man that we should enjoy li- 
berty, without the agitations of party, the United States had 
a right, under these circumstances, to expe£l it : but it was Im- 
possible. Where there is no liberty, they may be exempt from 
party. It will seem strange, but it scarcely admits a doubt, 
that there are fewer malecontents in Turkey, than in any free 
state in the world. Where the people have no power, they en- 
ter into no contests, and are not anxious to know how they shall 
use it. The spirit of discontent becomes torpid for want of 
employment, and sighs Itself to rest. The people sleep soundly 
in their chains, and do not even dream of their weight. Tjiejr 
lose, their turbulence with their enqrgy, and become as tradable 



100 WASHINGTONIANA. 

as any other animals : a state of degradation, in which they ex-< 
tort our scorn, and engage our pity, for the misery they do not 
feel. Yet that heart is a base one, and fit only for a slave's 
bosom, that would not bleed freely, rather than submit to such 
a condition ; for liberty with all its parties and agitations is 
more desirable than slavery. Who would not prefer the repub- 
lics of antient Greece, Avhere liberty once subsisted in its ex- 
cess, its delirium, terrible in its charms, and glistening to the 
last with the blaze of the very fire that consumed it ? 

I DO not know that I ought, but I am sure that I do, prefer 
those republics to the dozing slavery of the modern Greece, 
"where the degrading wretches have suffered scorn 'till they me- 
rit if; where they tread on classic ground, on the ashes of heroes 
and patriots, unconscious of their ancestry, ignorant of the na- 
ture, and almost of the name of liberty, and insensible even to 
the passion for it. Who, on this contrast, can forbear to say, 
it is the modern Greece that lies buried, that sleeps forgotten in 
the caves of Turkish darkness ? It is the antient Greece that 
lives in remembrance, that is still bright with glory, still fresh 
in immortal youth. They are unvvorthy of liberty, v.ho enter- 
tain a less exalted idea of its excellence. The misfortune is, 
that those who profess to be its most passionate admirers have, 
generally, the least comprehension of ics hazards and impedi- 
jnents ; they exped. that an enthusiastic admiration of its na- 
ture will reconcile the multitude to the irksomeness of its re- 
straints. Dehjsivc expeftation 1 Washington was not thus de- 
luded. We have his solemn warning against the often fatal pro- 
pensities of liberty. He had refleftcd, that men are often false 
to their country and their honor ; false to duty and even to their 
interest; but multitudes of men are never long false or deaf to 
their passions : these will find obstacles in the laws, associates 
in party. The fellowships thus formed are more "intimate, and 
impose commands more imperious, than those of society. 

Thus party forms a state within the state, and is animated 
by a rivalship, fear and hatred, of its superior. When this 
happens, the merits of the government will become fresh pro- 
vocations and offences ; for they are the merits of an fnemy^ 



WASHINGTONIANA. ]0l 

Ko wonder then, that as soon as party found the virtue and 
glory of Washington were obstacles, the attempt was made, by 
calumny, to surmount them both. For this, the greatest of 
all his trials, we know that he was prepared. He knew that 
the government must possess sufficient strength from within ox 
witliout, or fall a vidlim to fashion. This interior strength 
was plainly inadequate to its defence, unless it could be rein- 
forced from ivitbout by the zeal and patriotism of the citizens ; 
and this latter resource ^vas certainly as accessible to president 
Washington, as to any chief magistrate that ever lived. The 
life of the federal government, he considered, was in the breath 
of the people's nostrils : whenever they should happen to be so 
infatuated or inflamed as to abandon its defence, its end must 
be as speedy, and might be as tragical, as a constitution for 
France. 

* While the president was thus administering the govern- 
ment, in so wise and just a manner, as to engage the great ma- 
jority of the enlightened and virtuous citizens to co-operate 
with him for its support, and while he indulged the hope that 
time and habit were confirming their attachment, the French 
revolution had reached that point in its progress, when its ter- 
rible principles began to agitate all civilized nations. I will 
not, on this occasion, detain you to express, though my thoughts 
teem with it, my deep abhorrence of that revolution ; its des- 
potism, by the mob or the military, from the first, and its hy- 

* Tbe government of Massachusetts has manifested.^ more than 
once.^ and so lately as the last year^ [1799] a wise discernment 
of tbe pernicious tendency of certain usurping claims by states^ 
and of changes proposed to abolish^ under the name of amending^ 
tbe constiiution, 

Tbe example has bad its proper iveight to produce, in other 
states, alike zealous and prompt support of the national govern~ 
fnent. 

Long may sucb patriotic zeal continue, and ever may its ef^ 
forts obtain a like success ' 



t03 WASHINGTONIANA. 

pocricy of morals to the last. Scenes have passed there which 
exceed description, and which, for other reasons, I will not at- 
tempt to describe ; for it would not be possible, even at this 
distance of time, and with the sea between us and France, to 
go through with the recital of them, without perceiving horror 
gather, like a frost, about the heart, and almost stop its pulse. 
That revolution has been constant in nothing but its vicissitudes, 
and its promises ; always delusive but always renewed, to esta- 
blish philosophy by crimes, and liberty by the sword. The peo- 
ple of France, if they are not like the modern Greeks, find 
their cap of liberty is a soldier's helmet ; and, with all their 
imitation of diftators and consuls, their exaclest similitude to 
these Roman ornaments, is in tlieir chains. The nations of 
Europe perceive another resemblance, in their all-conquering 
ambition. 

But it is only the influence of that event on America, and 
on the measures of the president, that belongs to my subject. 
It would be ungratefully wrong to his charafter to be silent in 
Tcspedi to a part of it, which has the most signally illustrated 
his virtues. 

The genuine charatfler of that revolution is not even yet so 
veil understood as the didates of self-preservation require it 
should be. The chief duty and care of all governments is to 
proteft the rights of property, and the tranquillity of society. 
The leaders of the French revolution, from the beginning, ex- 
cited the poor against the rich : this has made rich poor, but 
it will never make the poor rich. On the contrary, they were 
used only as blind instruments to make those leaders masters, 
first of the adverse party, and then cf the state. Thus the 
powers of the state were turned round into a. direftion exaftly 
contrary to the proper one, not to preserve tranquillity and re- 
strain violence, but to excite violence by the lure of power, 
and plunder, and vengeance. Thus all France has been, and 
still is, as much the prize of the ruling party as a captured 
ship, and if any right or possession has escaped confiscationj 
there is none that has not been liable to it. 



WASHINGTONIANA. lOS 

Thus it clearly appears that, in its origin, its cliara£\er, and 
its means, the goveriinient of that country is revolutionary; 
that is, not only different from, but diredlly contrary to, every 
regular and well ordered society. It is a danger, similar in its 
kind, and at least equal in degree, to that, with which antient 
Rome menaced her enemies. The allies of Rome were slaves; 
and it cost some hundred years efforts of her policy and arms, 
to make her enemies her allies. Nations, at this day, can trust 
no better to treaties ; they cannot even trust to arms, unless 
they are used with a spirit and perseverance becoming the mag^ 
nitude of their danger. For the French revolution has been,, 
from the first, hostile to all right and justice, to all peace and 
order in society ; and, tiierefore, its very existence has been a 
state of warfare against the civilized world, and most of all 
against free and orderly republics. For such are never withoat 
fa(9;ions, ready to be the allies of France, and to aid her in the 
work of destrudion. Accordingly, scarcely any but republics 
have they subverted. Such governments, by shewing in prac- 
tice what republican liberty ;.y, detedi French imposture, and 
shew what their pretexts are not. 

To subvert them, therefore, they had, besides the facility 
that faction affords, the double excitement of removing a re- 
proach, and converting their greatest obstacles into their most 
efficient auxiliaries. 

Who then, on careful refledlion, will be surprized, that the 
French and their partizans instantly conceived the desire, and 
made the most powerful attempts, to revolutionize the Ameri- 
can government ? But it will hereafter seem strange that their 
excesses should be excused, as the effefts of a struggle for li- 
berty, and that so many of our citizens should be flattered, 
while they were insulted, with the idea, that our example wa* 
copied, and our principles pursued. Nothing was ever so false, 
or more fascinating. Our liberty depends on our education, oub 
laws, and habits, to which even prejudices yield ; on the disper- 
sion of our people on farms, and on the almost equal diffusion 
of property ; it is founded on morals and religion, whose au- 
thority reigns in the heart, and on the influence all these prqjt 



104 V/ASHINGTONIANA. 

duce on public opinion before that opinion governs rulers. Jlei-e 
liberty is restraint, there it is violence ; here it is miltl and 
cheering, like the morning sun of our summer, brightening the 
hills, and making the vallies green ; there it is like the sun, 
Vrhen his rays dart pestilence on the sands of Africa. Ameri- 
can liberty calms and restrains the licentious passions, like an 
angel that says to the winds and troubled seas — be still. But 
how has French licentiousness appeared to the wretched citizens 
of Switzerland and 7enice ? Do not their haunted imaginations, 
even when they wake, represent her as a monster, with eyes 
that flash wild fire, hands that hurl thunderbolts, a voice that 
shakes the foundation of the hills ? She stands, and her ambi- 
tion measure* the earth ; she speaks, and an epidemic fury seizes 
the nations. 

Experience is lost upon us, if we deny, that it had seized 
a large part of the American nation. It is as sober and intel- 
ligent, as free, and as worthy to be free, as any in the world : 
yet, like all other people, we have passions and prejudices, and 
they have received a violent impulse, which, for a time, mis- 
led us. 

Jacobinism had become here, as in France, rather a seft 
than a party ; inspiring a fanaticism that was equally intolerant 
and contagious. The delusion was general enough to be thought 
the voice of the people, therefore claiming authority without 
proof; and jealous enough to aSt acquiescence without a mur- 
mur of contradidtion. Some progress was made in training 
multitudes to be vindictive and ferocious. To them nothing 
•seemed amiable, but the revolutionary justice of Paris ; no- 
thing terrible, but the government and justice of America, 
The very name of patriots v,'as claimed and applied in propor- 
tion as the citizens had alienated their hearts from America, 
and transferred their afFeftions to their foreign corrupter. Party 
discerned its intimate connexion of interest with France, and 
consummated its profligacy by yielding to foreign influence. 

- The views of these allies required that this country slv>uld 
engage in war with Great-Britain. Nothing less would give 



WASHINGTONIANA. 105 

to France all the means of annoying this dreaded rivdl : no- 
thing less would ensure the subjection of Ameilca, as a satel- 
lite to the ambition of France : nothing eke could make a re- 
volution here perfedlly inevitable. 

For this end, the minds of the citizens were artfully en- 
flamed, and the moment was watched, and impatiently waited 
for, when their long heated passions should be in fusion, to 
pour them forth, like the lava of a volcano, to blacken and 
consume the peace and government of our country. 

The systematic operations of a faiStion under foreign influ- 
ence had begun to appear, and were successively pursued, in a 
manner too deeply alarming to be soon forgotten. Who of us 
does not remember this worst of evils in this worst of ways ? 
Shame would forget, if it could, that, in one of the states, 
amendments were proposed to break down the federal senate, 
which, as in the state governments, is a great bulwark of the 
public order. To break down another, an extravagant judiciary 
power was claimed for states. In another state a rebellion was 
fomented by the agent of France. And who, without fresh 
indignation can remember, that the powers of governm.ent were 
openly usurped j troops levied, and ships fitted out to fight for 
her ? Nor can any true friend to our government consider with- 
out dread, that, soon afterwards, the treaty making power was 
boldly challenged for a branch of the government, from "which, 
the constitution has wisely withholden it. 

I AM oppressed, and know not how to proceed with my sub- 
je^- — Washington, blessed be God ! who endued him with wis- 
dom and clothed him with power — Washington issued his pro- 
clamation of neutrality, and, at an early period, arrested the 
intrigues of France and the passions of his countrymen, on the 
very edge of the precipice of war and revolution. 

This ail of firmness, at the hazard of his reputation and 
peace, entitles him to the name of the first of patriots. Time 
was gained for the citizens to recover their virtue and good 

O 



106 V/'ASHINGTONIANA. 

sense, and they soon recovered them. The crisis was passeij, 
and America was saved. 

You and I, most respefted fellow-citizens, should be sooner 
tired than satisfied in recounting the particulars of this illus- 
trious man's life. 

How great he appeared, while he administered the govern- 
inent, how much greater when he retired from it, how he ac- 
cepted the chief militaiy command under his wise and upright 
successor, how his life was unspotted like his fame, and hoNy 
his death was worthy of his life, are so many distinft subjects 
of instruftion, and each of them singly more than enough fo* 
an eulogium. I leave the task however to history and to pos- 
terity ; they will be faithful to it. 

It is not impossible, that some will aifedl to consider the ho- 
nors paid to this great patriot by the nation, as excessive, idola- 
trous, and degrading to freemen, who are all equal. I answer, 
that refusing to virtue its legitimate honors, would not prevent 
their being lavished, in future, on any worthless and ambitious 
favorite. If this day's example should havls its natural efFeft, 
it will be salutary. Let such honors be so conferred only when, 
in future, they shall be so merited : then the public sentiment 
will not be misled, nor the principles of a just equality cor- 
rupted. The best evidence of reputation is a man's whole life. 
We have now, alas ! all Washington's before us. There has. 
scarcely appeared a really great man, whose charafter has been 
iijore admired in his life time, or less corre£tIy understood by 
his admirers. When it is comprehended, it is no easy task to 
delineate its excellencies in such a manner, as to give to the 
portrait both interest and resemblance. For it requires thought 
and study to understand the true ground of the superiority of 
his charad\er over many. others, whom he resembled in the prin- 
ciples of adion, and even in the manner of ading. But per- 
haps he excels all the great men that ever lived, in the steadi- 
ness of his adherenee to his maxims of life, and in the unifor- 
mity of all his condudl to the same maxims. These maxims, 
though wise, wne yet not so remarkable for their wisdom, as 



WASHINGTONIANA. lor 

for their authority over his life : for if there were any errors in 
his judgment, (and he discovered as few as any man) v/c know 
of no blemishes in his virtue. He was the patriot without re- 
proach : he loved his country well enough to hold his success 
in serving it an ample recompense. Thus far self-love and love 
of country coincided : but when his country needed sacrifices> 
that no other man could, or perhaps would be willing to make, 
he did not even hesitate. This was virtue in its most exalted 
charader. More than once he put his fame at hazard, when he 
had reason to think it would be sacrificed, at least in this age. 
Two instances cannot be denied. When the army was dis- 
banded ; and again, wken he stood, like Leonidas, at the pass 
of Thermopylx, to defend pur independence against France* 

It is indeed almost as difficult to draw his charafler, as the 
portrait of virtue. The reasons are similar. Our ideas of mo- 
tal excellence are obscure, because they are complex, and 
we are obliged to resort to illustrations. Washington's exam-. 
ample is the happiest to shew what virtue is : and to delineate 
his charafter, we naturally expatiate on the beauty of virtue. 
Much must be felt, and much imagined. His pre-eminence ia 
not so much to be seen in the display of any one virtue, as in 
the possession of them all, and in the pradice of the most diffi~ 
cult. Hereafter therefore his charadler must be studied before 
it will be striking ; and then it will be admitted as a model ; a 
precious one to a free republic ! 

It is no less difficult to speak of his talents. They Avere 
adapted to lead without dazzling mankind ; and to draw forth 
and employ the talents of others, without being misled by shem. 
In this he was certainly superior, that he neither mistook nor 
misapplied his own. His great modesty and reserve would have 
concealed them, if great occasions had not called them forth ; 
and then, as he never spoke from the affeftatibn to shine, nor 
adled from any sinister motives, it is from their effis£ls only that 
■we are to judge of their greatness and extent. In public trusts, 
where men, afting conspicuously, are cautious, and in those pri- 
vate concerns, where few conceal or resist theij- weaknesses,. 
Washington was uniformly great ; pursuing right condud from; 



108 WASHINGTONIANA. 

Tight maxims. His talents were such as assist a sound judg- 
ment, and ripen with it. His prudence was consumnnate, and 
seemed to take the direftion of his po>vers and passions ; for, 
as a soldier, he was more solicitous to avoid mistakes that might 
be fatal, than to perform exploits that are brilliant ; and as a 
statesman, to adhere to just principles, however old, than to 
pursue novelties ; and therefore, in both charafters, his quali- 
ties were singularly adapted to the interest, and were tried in 
the greatest perils, of the country. His habits of enquiry were 
so remarkable, that he was never satisfied with investigating, 
nor desisted from it, so long as he had less than all the light he 
could obtain upon a subjeifl ; and then he made his decision 
without bias. 

This command over the partialities that so generally stop 
men short, or turn them aside, in their pursuit of truth, is one 
of the chief causes of his unvaried course of right condudl in 
so many difficult scenes, where every human adlor must be pre- 
sumed to err. 

If he had strong passions, he had learned to subdue them, 
and to be moderate and mild. If he had weaknesses he con- 
cealed them, which is rare, and excluded them from the govern- 
ment of his temper and conduft, which is still more rare. If 
he loved fame, he never made improper compliances for what is 
called popularity. The fame he enjoyed is of the kind that 
•will last forever ; yet it was rather the effeft, than the motive, 
of his conduft. Some future Plutarch will search for a parallel 
to his character. Epaminondas is perhaps the brightest name 
of all antiquity. Our Washington resembled him in the purity 
and ardor of his patriotism ; and, like him, he first exalted the 
glory of his country. I'herc, it is hoped, the parallel ends : for 
Thebes fell with Epaminondas. But such comparisons cannot 
be pursued far, without departing from the similitude. For we 
shall find it as difficult to compare great men as great rivers. 
Some we admire for the length and rapidity of their curiosity, 
and the grandeur of their catarafts : others, for the majestic si- 
lence and fulness of their streams : We cannot bring them to- 
gether to measure the difference of their waters. The unam- 



WASHINGTONIANA. 109 

bitions life of Washington, declining farr:e, yet courted by it, 
seemed, like the Ohio, to chiise its long way through solitudes, 
difTusing fertility; or like his oAvn , Potowmac, widening and 
deepening his channel, as he approaches the sea, and displaying 
most the usefulness and serenity of his greatness towards the 
end of his course. Such a citizen Avould do honor to any coun- 
try. The constant veneration and afFeftion of his country will 
shew, that it was worthy of such a citizen. 

However his military f.-.me may excite the wonder of man- 
kind, it is chiefly by his civil magistracy, that his example will 
instruft them. Great generals have arisen in all ages of the 
world, and perhaps most in those of despotism and darknes'?. 
In times of violence and convulsion, they rise, by the force of 
the whirlwind, high enough to ride in it, and direft the storm. 
Like meteors, they glare on the black clouds with a splendor, 
that, while it dazzles and terrifies, makes nothing visible but 
the darkness. The fame of heroes is indeed growing vulgar : 
they multiply in every long war : they stand in history, and. 
thicken in their ranks, almost as undistinguished as their own 
soldiers. 

But such a chief magistrate as Washington, appears like the 
pole star in a clear sky, to direct the skilful statesman. His 
presidency will form an epoch, and be distinguished as the age 
of Washington. Already it assumes its high place in the poli- 
tical region. Like the milky way, it whitens along its allotted 
portion of the hemisphere. The latest generations of men will 
survey, through the telescope of history, the space where so 
many virtues blend their rays, and delight to separate them into 
groups and distin6l virtues. As the best illustration of them, 
the living monument to which the first of patriots would have 
ciiosen to consign his fame, it is my earnest pravcr to heaven, 
that our country may subsist, even to that late day, in the ple- 
nitude of its liberty and happiness, and mingle its mild glory 
with Washington's. 



J 10 WASHINGTONIANA. 

Oration on the death ef general JVASHiNG-roK ; deli-oered at tbt 
request of the corporation of the city of Nciv-Tork, By Gou^ 
VERNEUR MoRRZS. 

Americans, 

ASSEMBLED to pay the last clues of filial piety to Iiini who 
was the f;ither of his country, it is meet that we take one 
last look at the man whom we have lost forever. 

Born to high destinies, he was fashioned for them by the 
hand of nature. His form was noble — his port majestic. On 
his front were enthroned tlie virtues which exalt, and those which 
adorn the human charafter. So dignified his deportment, no 
man could approach him but with respecl. None was great in 
his presence. You all have seen him, and you all have felt the 
reverence he inspired ; it was such, that to command, seemed 
in him but the exercise of an ordinary funclion, while others 
felt a duty to obey, which (anterior to the injundlions of civil 
ordinance, or the compulsion of a military code) was imposed 
by the high behests of nature. 

He had every title to command. Heaven, in giving him the 
higher qualities cf the soul, had given also the tumultuous pas- 
sions which accompany greatness, and frequently tarnish its lus- 
tre. With them was his first contest, and his first victory was 
over himself. So great the empire he had there acquired, that 
calmness of manner and of conduct distinguished him through 
life. Yet, tliose who have seen him strongly moved, will bear 
Avitness that his wrath was terrible ; they h'ave seen boiling in 
his bosom, passion almost too miglity for man ; yet, when just 
bursting into acl, that strong passion was controlled by his 
stronger mind. 

Having thus a perfeft command of himself, he could rely 
on the full exertion of his powers, in whatever diredlion he 
might order them to ad. He was therefore, clear, decided and 
■unembarrassed by any consideration of himself. Such considera- 
tion did not even dare to intrude on his refleftions. Hence it 
was, that he beheld not only the affairs that were passing around 



WASHINGTONIANA. Ill 

him, but those also in which he was personally engaged, with 
the coolness of an unconcerned spe£latcr. They were to him 
•as events historically recorded. His judgment was always clear, 
because his mind was pure. And seldom, if ever, will a sound 
understanding be met with in the company of a corrupt heart. 

In the strength of judgment lay, indeed, one chief excel- 
lence of his character. Leaving to feebler minds that splendor 
of genius, which, while it enlightens others, too often dazzles 
the possessor, he knew how best to use the rays which genius 
might emit, and carry iftto a<5t its best conceptions. 

So modest, he wished not to attraft attention, but observed 
in silence, and saw deep into the human heart. Of a thousand 
propositions he knew to dibtinguish the best ; and to sele£t 
among a thousand the man most fitted for his purpose. If ever 
he was deceived in his choice, it was by circumstances of social 
feeling which did honor to his heart. Should it, therefore, in 
the review of his conduft, appear that he was merely not infal- 
lible, the few errors which fell to his lot, as a man, wUI claim 
the afFeclions of his fellow men. Pleased with the rare, but 
graceful weakness, they will admire that elevation of soul, 
which, superior to resentment, gave honor and power, with li- 
beral hand, to those by whom he had been offended. Not to 
conciliate a regard, which, if it be venal, is worth no price, but 
to draw forth in your service the exercise, of talents which he 
could duly estimate, in spite of incidents by which a weaker 
mind would have been thrown from its bias. 

In him were the courage of a soldier, the intrepidity of a 
chief, the fortitude of a hero. He had given to the impulsions 
of bravery all the calmness of his charaAer ; and, if in the mo- 
ment of danger, his manner was distinguishable from that of 
common life, it was by superior ease and grace. 

To each desire he had taught the lessons of moderation. Pru- 
dence became therefore the companion of his life. Never in 
the public, never in the private hour did she abandon him even 
for a moment. And, if iu the small circle, where he might 



112 V/ASIinsGTONlANA. 

safely thmk aloud, she should have slumbered amid convivial 
joy, his quick tense of what was just, and decent, and fit, stood 
ever ready to awaken her at the slightest alarm. 

Knowing how to appreciate the world, its gifts and glories, 
he was truly wise. Wise also in seledling the objeifts of his pur- 
suit. And wise in adopting just means to compass honorable 
ends. 

Bound by the sacred ties of wedded love, his high example 
strengthened the tone of public manners. Beloved, almost 
adored by the amiable partner of his toils and dangers, who 
shared with him the anxieties of public life, and sweetened the 
shade of retirement, no fruit was granted to their union. No 
child to catch with pious tenderness the falling tear, and soothe 
the anguish of connubial affliction. No living image remains 
to her of his virtues, and she must seek them sorrowing in the 
grave. Who shall arraign, O God! thy high decree? Was it 
in displeasure, that to the father of his country thou hadst de- 
nied a son ? Was it in mercy, lest the paternal virtues should 
have triumphed (during some frail moment) in the patriot bo- 
som ? Americans, he hiid no child— but you — and be was 

ALL YOUIl OWN. 

Let envy come forward if she dare, and seek some darkened 
spot in this sun of our glory. From the black catalogue of 
crimes envy herself must speak him free. Had he (a mortal) 
the failings attached to man ? — Was he the slave of avarice ? 
No. W^eahh was an object too mean for his regard. And yet 
economy presided over his domestic concerns ; for his mind was 
loo lofiy to brook dependence. Was he ambitious ? No. His 
^spirit soared beyond ambition's reach. He saw a crown high 
above all human grandeur. He sought, he gained, and wore 
that crown. But he had indeed one frailty — the weakness of 
•vreat minds. He was fond of fame, and had reared a colossal 
reputation. It stood on the rock of his virtue. Ihis was dear 
to his heart- There was but one thing dearer. He loved glory, 
bat i..ill u'.ore he loved hii country. That was the master pas- 



WASHINGTONI ANA. 1 1 3 

sion, and, with resistless might, it ruled his every thought, and 
word, and deed. 

We see him stepping, as it •were, from his cradle, into the 
fields of glory, and meriting the public confidence, at a period 
when others too often consume in idleness the moments lent fof 
instru£tion, or (in pursuit of pleasure) waste their moral ener- 
gies. While yet his cheek was covered with the down of youth, 
.he had combined the character of an able negociator with that 
of a gallant soldier. Scarce had he given this early pledge of 
future service, when he was called on for the quick performance. 
He accompanies to the western wilds Braddock, who, bred in 
camps of European war, despised the savage. But soon entrap- 
ped in the close ambush, military skill becomes of no avail* 
The leaders, selefted by unerring aim, first fall — the troops lie 
thick in slaughtered heaps, the viAims of an invisible foe. 
Washington, whose warnings had been negleiS^ed. still gives the 
aid of salutary counsel to his ill-fated chief, and urges it with 
all the grace of eloquence, and all the force of conviftion. A 
form so manly draws the attention cf the savage, and is doomed 
to perish. The murdering instruments are levelled — the quick 
bolts fly winged with death, and pierce his garments ; but obe- 
jdient to the sovereign will, they dare not shed his blood. Brad- 
dock falls at his feet ; and the youthful hero covers, with his 
brave Virginians, the retreat of Britons, not less brave, but 
surprized by unusual war. 

These bands of brothers wefe soon to stand in hostile oppo- 
sition. Such was the decree of Him to whom are present all 
the revolutions of time and empire. When no hope remained 
but in the field of blood, Washington was called on by his 
country to lead her armies. In modest doubt of his own abi- 
lity, he submitted with reluftance to the necessity of becoming 
her chief; and took on him the weight, the care and the anguish 
of a civil war. Ambition would have tasted here the sweets 
of power, and drunk deep of intoxicating draughts, but to ths 
patriot, these sweets are bitterness. 



I i 4 WASHINGTON! ANA, 

Industrious, patient, persevering, he remalred at the h'ea'cf 
of citizens scarcely armed ; and, sparing- of- blood, by skill, 
rather than by force, compelled his foe to seek a mere favorable 
theatre of war. And now all hope of union lest, America (by 
her declaration of independence) cut the last slender thread of 
connexion. 

She had hitherto been successful ; but was soon shaken by 
adverse storms. The counsel of her chief had been neglefted, 
Hi-s army had been raised by annual enlistment. The poor rem- 
nant of accumulated defeat, retreating before an enemy flushed, 
with success, and confident in all superiority, looked with im- 
patience to the approaching term of service. The prospefl was 
on all sides gloomy ; and sunshine friends " (turning their ha- 
lyccn beaks to fairer skies") sought shelter from the storm. But 
though betrayed by fortune, his calm and steady mind remained 
true to itself. Winter had closed the campaign. Solacing in 
the enjoyment of what their arms had acquired, the vigors 
tasted pleasure unalloyed by the dread of danger. They were 
sheltered behind one of the broad barriers of nature ; and, safely 
housed, beheld upon its farther shore, a feeble adversary, ex- 
posed beneath che canopy of heaven to the rigors of an unpity- 
ing season. It was hoped that, Avhen their term of enlistment 
expired, the American troops would disperse ; and the chief (in 
despair) throw up his command. "Such was the reasoning, and 
such reasoning would (in ordinary cases) have been conclusive. 
But that chief was Washington ! He shews to his gallant com- 
rades the danger of their country, and asks the aid of patriotic 
service. At his voice their hearts beat high. In vain the rag- 
ing Delaware, vcxt with the wintry blast, fo'bids tiieir march. 
In vain he rolls along his rocky bed, a frozen torrent, whose 
ponderous mass threatens to sweep the soldier from his uncertain 
footstep, and bear him down the flood 1 In vain the beating 
snow adds to the dangerous ford a darkened horror I DiiEculties 
and dangers animate the brave. His little band is arrived ; 
Washington n within the walls — the enemy is subdued ! 

Fortune now smiles — but who can trust to that fallacious 
smile \ Preparations are already made to punish the American 



WASHINGTONIANA. 1 1 ^ 

leader for his adventrcus hardihood. And now he sees, stretched 
oiit before him in wide array, a force so great that in the battle 
there isjio hope. Behind him the impassable stream cuts off 
retreat. Already from his brazen throat the cannon gives loud 
summons to the field. But the setting sun leaves yet a dreary 
night to brood over a'pproaching ruin. The earth is shrouded 
in the veil of darkness ; and now the illustrious chief takes up 
his silent march, and in Wide circuit leads his little band around 
the unwary foe. At the dawn, his military thunders tell them 
their reserve, posted far in the rear, is in the pounces of the 
American eagle. They hasten back to revenge ; but he has al- 
ready secured his advantage, and (by a well chosen position) 
confines them to inglorious repose. The armies now rest from 
their toil. But for him there is no rest. His followers claim 
the double right of returning to their homes, and he stands al- 
most alone. He dares not ask for aid, lest the enemy, emboU 
dened by the acknowledgment of weakness, should dissipate his 
shadow of an army. Nothing remains but to intimidate by the 
appearance of a force, which does not exist ; and hide from 
his own troops their great inferiority. Both are effedled by 
skill rarely eq^ualled — never excelled. 

Scarce hath the advancing season brought forward a few re- 
cruits when he begins oflensive operations. His enemy foiled 
in each attempt to advance, is compelled to ask from the ocean 
some safer road to conquest. The propitious deep receives on 
his broad bosom the invading host, and bids his obedient billows 
bear them to some shore, where they may join the advantage 
of surprize with those of number, discipline and appointments. 
The hope is vain 1 Washington had penetrated their views, and 
stands before them ! He is unfortunate. Defeated, not sub- 
dued — he leads on again to new attack. The half-gained vie-, 
tory, snatched from his grasp, at the head of an inferior, twice 
beaten army, he passes the long winter in an open field, within 
one day's march of his foe. 

Here he w^as doomed to new difficulties, and dangers un-i 
known before. Fadion had reared (in the American councils) 
her accursed head, and labored to remove him from the com» 



116 WASHINGTONIANA. 

jnand. That measure -would at once have disbanded his af- 
fedlionate troops — the country around them was exhausted. He 
had no means to clothe or feed his army — none to change their 
position. Many perished — each day the numbers were alarm- 
ingly diminished, and reinforcement was dangerous, because it 
might encrease the farj-iine. Under these circumstances, a new 
system of organization and discipline was to be formed, intro- 
duced and enforced, while the solaier could seldom obtain even 
^lis poor pittance of depreciated paper. — 

m " JVbo then halb seen 

*' The gallant leader of that ruined band., 

" Let bim cry praise and glory on his head.'^ 

It was in the solitary walk of night— it was in the bosom of 
friendship that he could aloue unburthen himself, of the vast 
woe which weighed upon his heart. Here was indeed no com- 
mon or vulgar care. Honor — liberty — his country, stood on 
the dangerous margin of uncertain fate, and no human eye 
could pierce the dark cloud which hung upon futurity. 

FuGM this black night of gloomy apprehension, broke forth- 
the sun of golden, glorious hope 1 — A mighty monarch had con- 
neded his fortunes with those of America. In her defence the 
flag of France was unfurled, and gratitude hailed the sixteenth 
Louis, proteftor of the rights of mankind. His powerful in- 
terference took off from what remained of the war, all reafon- 
able doubt as to the final event. After a varied scene of ad- 
verse and prosperous circumstances, that event varied, and a so- 
lemn treaty acknowledged your independence. 

Great v/as the joy and high the general expectation, for the 
political state of America Avas not duly considered. Her band 
of federal union had been woven by the hand of distrust. The 
different states had been held together, in no small degree, by 
the external pressure of war. That pressure removed, ihey 
might fall asunder. There existed various causes of discontent, 
which the intrigues of European policy might ripen into disgust. 
Those who shared in the public counsels were filled, therefore, 
with deep apprehension. The army, taught by years of painful 



WASHINGTONIANA. ny 

experience, became a prey to sinister forebodings. Conne^led 
by the endearing ties of soldierly brotherhood, these gallant song 
of freedom anticipated with horror the moment when they might 
be called on to unsheath their swords against each other ; and 
pour, in impious libation, the purest of their blootl upon the al- 
tars of civil war. Some of the m.ore ardent spirits, smarting" 
from the past, and fearing for the future, had formed a wish, 
that the army might be kept together, and (by its appearance) 
accelerate the adoption of an efficient government. The senti- 
ment was patriotic — the plan of doubtful completion — the suc- 
cess uncertain — but the prospeift was fair if the chief could be 
engaged, 

Ke knew their v/rongs 1 He knew their worth ! He felt their 
apprehensions ! — They had strong claims upon him, and those 
claims were strongly urged. Supreme power, with meretricious 
charms, courted his embrace ; and was clothctl, to seduce him, 
in the robes of justice. If, therefore, ambition had possessed a 
single corner of his heart, he might have deliberated. But he 
was ever loyal. He bid a last adieu to the companions of his 
glory, and laid all his laurels at the feet of his country ! 

His fame was now complete, and it was permitted him to 
hope for ease in dignified retirement. Vain hope ! The defects 
of the federal compaft are soon too deeply felt not to be gene- 
rally acknowledged — America drrefts a revision by persons of 
her choice. He is their president. It is a question, previous 
to the first meeting, what course shall be pursued. Men of de- 
cided temper, who, devoted to the public, overlooked prudential 
considerations, thought a form of government should be framed 
entirely new. But cautious men, with whom popularity was 
an object, deemed it fit to consult and comply -v^ith the wishes 
of the people. Americans 1 let the opinion then delivered by 
the greatest and best of m.en, be ever present to your remem- 
brance. He was coUed^ed within himself. His countenance 
had more than usual solemnity. His eye wasfiixed, and seemed 
to look into futurity. " It is (said he) too probable that no 
plan we propose will be adopted. Perhaps another dreadful con- 
iiid is to be sustained. If, to please the people, we offer what 



118 WASHINGTONIANA. 

v/e ourselves disapprove, how can we afterwards defend our 
v»"ork ? Let us raise a standard to which the wise and the honest 
can repair- The event is in the hand of God.'" This was the 
patriot voice of Washington ; and this the constant tenor of his 
condadl. With this deep sense of duty, he gave to our consti- 
tution his cordial assent ; and has added the fame of a legislator 
to that of a hero. 

Again, in the shade of rctirenient, he seeks repose ; but is 
called, by unanimous voice, to be the fiist magistrate of the 
United States. Scarce are the wheels of government in mo- 
tion, when he is struck by the view of that enormous revolu- 
tion which stiil torments and terrifies the earth. The flames of 
■war were spread throughout Europe, and threatened to waste 
the globe. The delegated incendiaries found America filled 
with inflammable matter. All the bad passions, with some that 
were good, stimulated her to engage in the contest. But the 
president, still calm, discerning, and true to your truest interest, 
proclaimed, observed, and maintained an exa£t neutrality. !» 
vain was he assailed frdm abroad : in vain solicited, excited, 
urged, by those around him. He stocd immoveable ! Vain also 
■were the clamors of mistaken zeal, the dark efforts of insidious 
fadion, and the fcul voice of mercenary slander. You have 
all lately seen his firm administration, and all now enjoy the 
rich result of his inflexible wisdom. 

Though he still turned with fond desire towards his domes-, 
tic shade, he never left the helm during the fury of the storm, 
but remained 'till he had the well founded expedation that A-. 
jnerica miglit enioy peace, freedom, and safety — and then at last 
he claims the right of age. A venerable veteran, in all honorr 
able service, laving consecrated to his country the spirit of 
youth, the stitngth of manhood, and the ripe experience of 
laborious years, he asks repose. His body broken with toil 

must rest. No — he is called forth again — again must he gird 

on his sword and prepare for the battle ! — And see ! fresh in 
renewed vigor, he decks his hoary head with nodding plumes of 
var, and mounts the barbed steed. With countenance ereft 
and firm, hrs eagle eye me?isures the lengthened file. Wonder- 



WASHINGTONIANA. ltd 

fill man ! he seems immortal — Oh no — no — no, this otir pride, 
our glory, is gone — He is gone forever. 

But yet his spirit liveth. Hail ! happy shade — the broad 
shield of death is thrown before thy fame. Never shall the pol- 
luted breath of slander blow upon tibine ashes. We will watch 
•with pious care the laurels which shade thy urn, and wear thy 
name, engraven on our beans. — Oh 1 yet protccl thy 'country 1 — 
Save her 1 — She is an orphan — Her father is mingled with the 
dust. 

No ! HE LIVETH HE SHALL LIVE FOREVER 1 And whca 

the latest of your children's children, shall pronounce his dear, 
his sacred name, their eyes shall be suffused with the tear of 

GRATITUDE and LOVE. 



Funeral oration on the death of brother George IVjsiiiNGros ; 
delivered at Lancaster ^ before ledge No, 43, and a large and 
respectable audience of ladies and gentlemen. By brother 
William Clark Fraier. 

Worshipful master^ junior and senior wardens, 
junior deacons, brethren, ladies and gentlemen, 

IN compliance with your directions, I rise to execute the task 
you have assigned, conscious that every indulgence T/hich a 
candid generous fraternity and audience are always d'.sposcd to 
give to pfersons in my situation and of my capacity, will be 
granted. The task is disagreeable, but a perfcrnicince of it is 
necessary, as a tribute due from this lodge to the rremory of 
our worthy deceased brother general GEoaGE WASHiivcTON. 
It is necessary, as it calls to our recolleiTi-on ids sphr.dii vir- 
tues. It is necessary, as a means whereby we can perpetuate 
his name. It is necessary, as it presents to us a thorough-fi- 
nished pifture of man ; in viewing which, independent of the 
improvement, we derive exc^uisite satis:a<?wion from the contem- 



120 WASHINGTON J AN A. 

f lation of its various beauties. These, as considerations of an 
important kind, together with the pleasing refledlicns arising 
from an idea of my complying witb the will of our great and 
good government, as also with that of a social and friendly in- 
stitution, lessen the weight of it. To become acquainted with 
the value r,nd worth of an individual as great as Washinton, 
yrc must contemplate his adions and atchievements with an eye 
of impartiality, view the various sources and springs from whence 
they have arisen. Thence we shall appreciate his true import- 
ance, and the loss his country has sustained in his death. This 
is the only accurate mode of trying charadlers, that has ever been 
adopted by men of wisdom ; and if in following them I trespass 
■upon your patience and time, I must solicit your friendly indul- 
gence. 

While ignorance continued to darken the horizon of Europe^ 
and intercept those rays coming from the fountain of wisdom, 
priestcraft and bigotry seemed to have forged fetters for the 
human mind ; and in the security of their own omnipotence, 
slumbered away, little thinking that the enlightened few, the 
chosen of heaven, exiled by their influence from their native 
realms to this then desert northern country, would here, in course 
of some few passing years, ereft an empire that would be the 
ornament of the world, and overthrow their usurped and cursed 
power. Yes, it was here they received the:r death blow. Yes, 
it was here our persecuted ancestors found an asylum, esta- 
blished the temple of knowledge, and through her, as a me- 
ilium, worshipped the great First Cause, and adored the attri- 
butes of his divinity. It was here wandering, harrassed protest- 
antism, and morality, her foster sister, found a mansion of rest 
and permanent security against the attacks of foes. From the 
earliest period of settlement, we discover strong exertions to- 
waid.5 the attainment of information, the disseminacion of cor- 
rect religious principle;, and the expansion of science. To 
these as causes we may indueQIy ascribe the greatness of our 
country. 

Our much-esteemed brother having formed his mind by an 
Education built upon there then predominant principles, acquired 



WASHINGTONIANA. 121 

thut greatness of thought, that nobleness and heioisni of soul, 
ivhich supported liim in difficulties, perils and dangers, such as 
man never before witnessed or experienced. This also pointed 
out to him those great duties which he always pertinaciously 
praidised : 1, to serve his creator ; 2, his country; 3, his fa- 
mily and himself. Impelled by such strong powers as those that 
movfc the machine, man, with so much majestic grandeur and 
dignified elegance, when his country called him to take an ac- 
tive part against an invading savage foe, we see him obedient 
to her call, like antient Sparta's sons, gird on the swoid of war, 
call forth his brothers in arms, animate them by his own exam- 
ple, stimulate them with the well-told tale of former hero's 
greatness in such a well-fought battle, and raise in their glow- 
ing breasts the pride of the experienced warrior. We see him 
leaving the pleasures and solacing comforts of retirement, trac- 
ing the almost impenetrable forests of our western country, scal- 
ing the stupendous mountains of Allegheny, against which the 
savage yell and dismal war-hoop striking, rebound with renewed 
violence, and fill with horror the mind of the lonely traveller ; 
buffeting with the sable waves of the numerous rivers that formi 
the grand Ohio, ignorant of the lurking den of the savage, 
from whence the arrows of death driven, so faithfully execute 
the intentions of their master. He marches undaunted. We 
see his little but brave band subsisting on the casual supplies of 
the woods, and hunger, as a consequence thereto, their fami- 
liar attendant ; the damp ground their bed, the canopy of hea- 
ven, awful with the blackness of night, their covering. We 
see them meet the enemy ; the fight ensues, and conquest is 
Wrested from the tawney warrior, long famed and sung of for 
hi« many feats. We see him here in a most amiable point of 
view, extending humanity to the unfortunate in war, and alle- 
viating the distresses of his wounded fellow-soldiers. Here he 
plants his greatness as a soldier. Here he plants the laurel from 
whence future heros may pluck the wreath of fame. We after- 
wards see him progressing towards the temple of fame, at the 
Big Meadows, where the malign shaft transfixed the brave, the 
unfortunate Braddock, who so nobly fell. The army is sur- 
rounded, deprived of their leader, the foe exasperated, the most 
horrid imprisonment and excruciating punishments in view. 



122 WASHINGTONIANA. 

They are in despair. Washington is thought of, he is called 
upon to assume the command. lie flies from rank to rank, 
calls upon tliem to bid defiance to a superior enemy, consolidates 
his battalions, leads them on — the enemy fall before them like 
the ripened harvest under the eastern storm — he secures a re- 
treat. Here he shews, in the great general, the philosophic 
niindj calm, coUedlcd, and resolved, in surrotindir,g dangers. 

On the conclusion of this v/ar, Avhich had desolated the east- 
ern and western worlds, he retires with that reward so much 
prized by the worthy and good man — the thanks of his grateful 
country. His name visits Europe ; he is applauded by the ad- 
mirers of merit, and is envied by those who are jealous of our 
rising country, and its growing charaifters. Prescience points 
out his future fame and greatness. The pious, the reverend Da- 
vies, prophecies fiom the sacred desk the miracles and the sal- 
vation that he is to work. Peace, ever-blessed peace, always 
sought for by the meritorious, justly valued by the prudent and 
brave, is once more fixed upon her broad basis ; and, like the. 
returning spring, that enlivens nature in so many beauteous 
■ways, she throws around plenty with happiness into every cot- 
tage, content and cheerfulnese into every bosom. Washington 
now lays down that sword which his government had entrusted 
to his care, and by their desire returns it to its antient habita- 
tion, with a promise that whenever his services are required, his 
greatest pleasure will be in submitting to their authority. No\t 
he withdraws to the shades of domestic tranquillity, cultivates 
the soil, harmony in society, encourages literature, the arts, sci- 
ences and manufa6\ures ; diffuses around in his small circle of 
neighbors, and his own family, all the fine, delicate sensibility 
of his more refined understanding. 

Here let us stop, and admire the man, retreating from great- 
ness in war to exercise the more peaceful funftions of the hus- 
br.ndman. Perhaps som.e may be surprized ; no, it was here he 
could hold intercourse with himself, and confer with his God. 
It was here he could give a full scope for the display of the 
wondrous powers of his mind. It was here he studied the les- 
son he had learned ia the school of >var, and digested its crude 



WASHINGTONIANA. 12S 

and ponderous mass. It was hese he planned the measures 
■whereby he could make his country independent, and laid the 
foundation of his glory. It v;as here he perfeded those princi- 
ples that had been early instilled into his mind by a fostering, 
attentive parent. Here it was that he obtained access to the 
sacred temple of masonry', and beheld her lovelv in all her my- 
sterious majesty. Here it was that he informed himself of the 
heros of antient days. Those were the sweets and beauties that 
allured him, when retiring^ from the tent of Mars. Those were 
the advantages and benefits that resulted from silence and re- 
treat, to his capacious and well- tutored mind. But how long 
did he enjoy those inexpressible charms, arising from a worldly 
absence, and flowing from the fountain of peace I O, life ! how 
transitory are thy scenes ! they are all the vision of the moment ; 
when we think that we have obtained thy blessings, and have 
made sure of them, how soon do we lose them ! Scarce had a 
few revolving suns traversed yonder sky, a few seasons pacetf 
slowly on from the close of the war, until the afFedlions of his 
countrymen snatched him once more from his heart-fond hom.e, 
to join them in redressing those grievances laid upon them by 
an unfeeling, unnatural parent, contrary to their unalienable and 
natural rights, secured and guaranteed to them by their nume-' 
Tous predecessors, and the most noble sovereigns that ever' 
graced Britannia's throne. In this capacity he joins the grand 
national council, protesting with a manly spirit against thbse 
a€ls of usurpation, but at the sarhe time petiti'oiling with an 
humble propriety for redress. Here, like Cincinnatus, he is' 
jirmly resolved and determined to maintain his country's freedom,^ 
let the consequences be what they might. Here, in this august 
body, he acquired redoubled confidence in the hearts of his coun-' 
trymen. Here he exhibited the wise man, by his correct con-- 
du«5l, and cautious silence. The success of congress in obtain- 
ing their desired objeft, every one must know : nothing like re- 
dress or restitution, nothing like reconciliation were offered. 
They are told that they have nothing to hope for from an of- 
fended sovereign. Thev become roused, indignant ; quiet sub- 
mission and passive obedience are now raised and enkindled into 
revenge. They assume to themselves the determination to live 
free, or fall with their liberty, in her proteftion and defence. 



124 WASHINGTONIANA. 

These measures bring an army to enforce the decrees and op- 
pressive mandates of their master. It is landed, and cruel ty- 
ranny, hitherto a stranger to our land, now exerts her awful 
sway. Our citizens are imprisoned and in chains. The groans 
of the martyrs in our cause are heard, with heart-rending pangs, 
to every bosom of sensibility. The clanking fetters that bind 
down the aged fathers of families, din the ear of the passing 
freeman, and in language more emphatic than that of words, 
calls out, " Pity and revenge our cause !" The flames of churches 
and mansions point out the way to the enemy. They embody 
themselves in arms — a cry is raised from north to south ; the 
soldier listens to the sound borne on the flying breeze — it is re- 
venge ! They meet together in confidence, and demand of their 
leaders immediate battle — it is granted. They march for the 
fust time, glowing with all the ardent courage of youth, burn- 
ing with the revenge of more mature years, n^eet the enemy, 
and give them fight. A Warren, then first in glory, points out 
the road to vidlory, and after wings his flight to worlds of bliss. 
The foe is repulsed three successive times ; three successive 
times is the battle renewed, each bringing with it new vigor 
and redoubled slaughter. Their ammunition fails — their gene- 
ral is gone^-.thence discouraged and disordered, they prudently 
retreat to the lawns of Cambridge. 

Whi^n congress had i-eceivcd the fatal news of Warren's 
death, :.nQ the unsuccessful but honorable resistance that had 
l^een made, a confusion of fear and astonishment overspread 
every countenance, and every heart tottered from its centre. 
The pulse of vital government stood still, and ceased to beat 
the note of the passing moment. All is silent, solemn and 
mournful, ominous of some important event. At this crisis of 
despondency, a gleam of hope illumes the face of Franklin, the 
precursor of Washington. It is observed by all — they are re- 
animatedr— they look up to him as an augur — his advice is a la-w. 
He rises, reverenced and respecfied, not for his age alone, but 
his wisdom in council. All cyf s are upon him, all are immersed 
in silent attention, waiting the didluifl of this oracle. He speaks 
of their sitx^atipn, ^heir losses, tl)eir resources, the probabijity 



WASHINGTON I ANA. 125 

of success in arms with an able general to command. Thej'^ are 
in suspense, as to whom lie intended nominating. He at last 
speaks of k man strong in years, tried in war, great in peace, 
fpnd of his country, and firmly attached to her interests and 
rights. — It is Washington, the savior of his country, and mes- 
siah of America ! He is unanimously chosen commander in chief 
of their armies. He appears at their bar with all that great ele- 
gant simplicity;^ that manly grace, and native majesty, which 
always command admiration — thanks them for the great trust 
and confidence they had reposed in him, and assures them that 
while he implores divine aid and assistance, that his own stre- 
nuous exertions towards establishing their independence and re- 
Epc£tability as a nation, sh<ill ndver be relaxed. The grand 
sword is once more banded down from the armory, and given 
to its known companion, to wield once more in battle. He pro- 
ceeds to Boston, to command his brothers in glory, with th« 
prayers of freemen descending on his head, for his preservation 
in the hour of danger, and success in his great but arduous un- 
dertaking. On him, as an axis, all their rights and interests 
turn. The waiting eyes of all America are upon him. Europe 
admires, while amazement confounds her. The enemy know 
of his appointment : they fear his abilities — his name is an host. 
On the second day of July, 1775, he arrives at his destined 
place. His presence obliterates the just now uneasy sensations 
that had settled on the minds of the late unfortunate but brave 
in fight. They think that under him they can conquer, that 
■with him they can die. They contemplate regularity in arms, 
a profusion of necessaries for the soldiers life, a sufficiency of 
warlike instruments, so essential as a spur to courage, and from 
the want of which they had met Avith a recent defeat. The 
commander in chief considers them as a machine, with which 
he must work at his appointed occupation ; he adds to this in- 
spired determined courage, discipline and order. His time is 
devoted to arrangements, and the organizing those brave but 
unpolished sons of freedom. The work is great and momentous 
— ^he wants aid — none to be found. Perseverance supplies the 
defe£l of it. Those hours which nature allotted to rest are em- 
ployed. 



126 WASHINGTONIANA. 

Metuinks I see the venerable hero, at the midnight hour, 
sitting in his tent, when all but himself, and his faithful Gen- 
try, are drowning their cares and sorrows in balmy slumbers— 
the little taper, hanging from the arched roof, discovers his 
pensive attitude, deeply engaged in planning operations for the 
ensuing day. I see him rising at the sound of the morning 
trump, wearied with multiplicity of cares, and perplexed with 
thought, visiting his forces, executing his night-made plans, 
harranguing his men, pointing out to them their duties as citi- 
zen soldiers, the blessings of a continuance of their freedom, 
and the sad, horrid consequences of a failure in their glorious 
struggle. I see them leave him, and return at his solicitation. 
i see them emaciated, and reduced with sickness, receiving his 
attention and fatherly kindness, comforting and consoling them 
in their various and numerous distresses. I see him discharge 
an army of 30,000 men, and recruit another, within musket 
shot of an enemy, furnished with every necessary military con- 
venience, commanded by generals and officers grown old in ser- 
vice, fraught with experience, great in numbers and well trained. 
I see this army of monsters, terrified by his industry, boldness, 
courage, depth of management, retire from the heights to the 
town of Boston. I see them, alarmed by the thunder of free-- 
dom's artillery, depart from their place of refuge — an exploit, 
performed by men laboring through a tempestuous cold winter, 
contending with the stings of hunger, sickness, fatigue, and 
their family affe£llons and attachments, unrivalled in history, 
never before done by man or men. — What conduced to this ? 
Love of country, and zeal in her cause. Thus we find, that 
no considerations whatever can draw men, when in pursuit of 
such noble purposes, from the line of redlitude and straight con- 
dua. 

In this last situation he had the honor of being the first 
mover cf an expedition, v4iich excited great curiosity and asto- 
nishment, and encreased his military lustre and charadler as an 
cfRcer, in the opinions of the enemy. But, alas ! it deprived 
the country of the great and valiant Montgomery. Here he 
was consulted by congress on all business of importance. Here 
he laid that base upon which he built the courage and spirit of 



WASHINGTONIANA. 127 

his army : a superstruAvire that will command the admiration 
of distant time. Here he appears as a great comet, shewing 
itself in the solar system, after an absence of many years, roU 
ling through the viist space of ether, with its own unborrowed 
velocity and splendor, attrading the notice of every one. Here 
he brings to light and military knowledge his brothers in arms^ 
hitherto veiled in the gloomy mist of ignorance. Having se- 
cured hife victory and advantages, gained with cautious and pro- 
vident steps, he pursues the enemy to their supposed place of 
retreat, and there awaits their anival. The enemy arrives— 
he meets and gives them battle ; but fortune, who hitherto fa- 
vored, leaves, and declares vi£lory to be against him. Having 
secured a retreat, under the auspices of a guardian heaven, he 
retires to Jersey, after making frequent attempts ; but, alas ! 
all in vain, to cope with the foe. He is pursued — success fails 
in all quarters — his soldiers are discouraged, poorly compensated ; 
people of the country drawn from their allegiance to the cause, 
their royal afFeclions reviving — treasury exhausted, no means of 
supplying it, public credit lost ; ammunition, arms, necessaries 
of life, scarcely to be procured ; traitors surrounding him, 
snares laid for his destrudUon, government losing confidence in 
him, snares laid for his destruction, government losing confi- 
dence in him, a rival in the command, northern and southern 
armies to dire£l ; a crouded hospital poorly attended, demanding 
his most strenuous and humane exertions ; manoeuvres and mo- 
tions of an er.emy, superior in numbers, to observe and watch ; 
and, in particular, party animosity and disputes in the bosonj 
of his encampment ! 

Herk we see the great man — here we see the illustrlou'S 
Washington, in his true light, and exalted point of view. Firm 
ill his resolves — buoyed up by that support which hope and his 
strength of mind afforded — undismayed at the gathering storro^ 
apparently about to descend with all its violence and terrors — 
placing his trust in that Supreme Diredlor of all armies, and 
looking with an aching eye upon the approaching convulsions 
of his country. Let me ask you, if there was a man at that 
time, when placed in his situation, that would not have des- 
ponded, and given up all hope of success ? Vievr hiia in the 



128 WASHINGTONIANA. 

light that I have done (which every person must admit is a pro- 
per one) and consider for one minute hi* situation, and you 
■will willingly conclude with me, that this would have been the 

ease. Then, admittiHg this, we must be indebted to him for 

all we have, possess and enjoy. 

Retreating with 1,500 men, btfore a pursuing army of 
30,000, he crosses the Delaware, takes a position, from which 
, be reconno iters a detached part of them at Trenton. Finding 
every thing favorable, and agreeable to his plan, he colleds his 
small but determined band of patriots, in a dark, dreary, cold, 
dismal night of winter, when the falling tempest seized with 
chilling numbness upon their almost naked bodies, wearing only 
the tattered remnants of what once was the uniform of better 
times ; recrosses the river, contending with mountains of float- 
ing ice, formidable and dangerous from the impetuosity of the 
current, the precipitancy of the snow, hurled and driven by an 
eastern wind. They silently approach their intended Thermo- 
pylae, obscured under the cover of the storm, attack the enemy, 
who make but a feeble resistance, and surrender — 1000 of Ger- 
mania's forces, together with him who fought on the plains of 
Saxony, submit to the superior prowess of Washington 1 

How noble did he appear when combating with the elements 
and man at the same time ! How grard when waving his sword 
in the fleecy air, and pointing out the road to viilory, fame, and 
freedom ! 1 his event leads to another equally as great, that con- 
tributed to give the grand turn to American affairs, and taught 
enemies to respeft the name of him, " first in war, first in peace, 
and first in the hearts of his countrymen" — it is the battle of 
Princeton. Horrid and vlrcadful is the fight ! Heros upon he- 
ros fall. He is fiist in rank, and first in danger. The plain of 
the muses becomes the field of adlion upon which Americans 
contend for their just and lawful property. The enemy is van- 
ijuished, and retires before the sword of pursuing vengeance. 
Mercer and Hazelet, great In war, now sleep in death, so no- 
bly earned. Plere v/here science reared her towering head, and 
held converse with her votaries, no^y laid the bodies of those 
who had fallen victims at the altar of liberty. Here, where oft 



WASHINGTONIANA. 129 

the student walked in all his glory, now laid the great in death. 
In that solemn temple, dedicated to wisdom and piety, where 
oft the sons of science sent up the mattin and evening song, 
to the throne of heaven, were no more heard the profane revil- 
ings and lascivious songs of an abandoned foe. Washington 
having acquired viclory, retires with heavy and distressed heart 
from the field, destitute of his favorites, his brothers in a try- 
ing, glorious cause. These successes heightened the brilliancy 
of his fame, gained us the alliance of a great and powerful mo- 
narch, brought foreigners of military knowledge and integrity 
to join us in arms, elevated the soldier drooping under his bur- 
then of duties and misfortunes, recruited his army, and stopped 
his country in her rapid passage to that vortex of ruin to which 
she had been long verging. 

-^ We can trace him from the heights of Morris-town to the 
siege of York, and we shall find him Invariably the same, whe- 
ther in prosperity or adversity, conquest or deleat, studying the 
interest and welfare of America. At the latter place, where 
he and La Fayette, the adopted son of Columbia, wrested the 
viclorioiis palm and war-worn laurel from the aged brow of him 
who since the conquest of India gained, he terminates his ca- 
reer, having secured the liberty and freedom of half the world, 
and acquired the name of father and deliverer of his country. 
Brutus rescued from Tarquin a small state — -Washington from 
a George the third half the globe. Xerxes marched to battle 
with one million of soldiers, and v/as conquered— -Washington 
with fifteen hundred, and gained a vidory : the one fought to 
enslave, the other to free. Timoleon was first in Corinth — . 
Washington in America. We had a Demosthenes in an Adams, 
a Lycurgus in a Franklin, 

Father and deliverer of his country! what sweetness dwells 
in this najne — a name sounded by million-tongued fame, through 
her golden trump, into distant worlds. The sooty African, that 
traverses Niger's sandy waste — the Algerine, desperate in fight 
—the half-lived Laplander — the Arabian, swift as the wind— . 
the Scythian — the inoffensive Bramins, — have all heard it, and 
when mentioned revere it. 

R 



ISO WASHINGTON! AN A. 

After the elapse of this event, we see him in a truly great 
and admirable -way, improving his glory, and dissipating the 
suspicions of sordid, selfish envy, by disbanding his army when 
the country is evacuated by the enemy, and going forward with 
a conscious dignity that arises from having done well, to that 
power which had called him into service, resigning that com- 
mission which they had delegated to his care, and which he had 
faithfully discharged. — Then we beheld American gratitude. 
Not an eye on that occasion was dry — not a heart that was not 
ovei flowing with love and afFedlion for the viftorious veteran. 
Then he lived in the hearts of his countrymen. Then every 
bosom was a monument, a faithful recorder of his merit. This 
conduct allayed the suspicions of those who supposed him an 
aspiring Cxsar, an ambitious Cromwell. It convinced them 
that he fought not for monopoly, for empire despotic, for fame ; 
but for man's rights and justice. He retires once more to his 
favorite abode, entitled the enterprizing, the intelligent, the 
great general, the prudent, the virtuous man. How much more 
eligible is fame of this kind, untarnished, unsullied by the blood 
of the innocent, and not a trait of it tinged by an a<^ of op- 
pression on the unhappy poor of our own country, than that ac- 
quired by an Alexander of Macedon, and those generals of the 
Roman government, who swam through seas of human blood, 
waded through destruction and devastation, to worship at the 
shrine cf fame. His retirement affords its usual delights and 
amusements, and opens to his enquiring mind new measures sa- 
lutary to the infirm state of the country, and essential to the 
perpetuation of its freedom. The different states, as to their 
connexions and views, were frequently clashing, and sometimes 
a prospeft of all being destroyed that had been with so much 
difficulty obtained. The union he considered as a remedy that 
would effe<ft the wished-for end, and consolidate the interests of 
the whole into one general body. With this view he hastens 
it. He calls upon his fellow-citizens to join in grand conven- 
tion, and accomplish it at once, as a sure means of preserving 
what they had just acquired. He is obeyed. Internal discord, 
the worst of fiends, just raising her serpent head, retires at his 
command, and all is peace. He joins the convention, as a father 
to guard his family, and watch their behavior j as such he is 



WASHINGTONIANA. . ISl 

adored and respefled, and as theiv chief personage and head, 
places his name and signature to that constitution, ^\hich afier- 
wards, under his own a4iiiinistration, produced those conse- 
quences he had so long anticipated. Having secured the union 
of a great people — having taught that their individual inte- 
rests should be the interests of the whole — having enjoined his 
colleagues to abide by their respeftive resolutions, to consider 
the constitution as the palladium of national security and li- 
berty, as the indissoluble bond of union, as the master-piece 
of mental architecture, as a great good that they had de- 
rived from many evils, as a memento of the precious blood that 
had been spilled as the price of it — he withdraws with heart- 
felt satisfaftion, and if possible more great and valuable than 
■ever in the minds of the people. The constitution now formed, 
and commencing its operations, let future ages, when perusing 
the page of history, (that faithful record of the events of time) 
te astonished, when it says, that he was twice called to fill the 
chief executive department under it — gnanimoubly chosen by 
three millions of freemen I 

Let the love his country possessed for him — the faith and 
Confidence they placed in him — the obedience he passively com- 
manded, strike dumb the tyrant who sits enthroned on the de- 
stroyed privileges and liberties of his subjedls. Let him reflect 
that Washidgton efFefted by a word, what he must by an army. 
Let him refledl that Washington's nightly slumbers were never 
disturbed by the noise of a surrounding guard, or the screams 
of an affrighted conscience. Let him be told that United Ame- 
rica was his centinel, and that heavenly visions, floating on the 
dreams of fancy, soothed his mind in rest, after the honest la- 
bors of the day. 

In this station he discovers the statesman, the sound politi- 
cian, and impartial ruler. He governs the people, subject to 
the constitution — forms alliances — his generals subdue a savage 
enemy — he extends the circulation of commerce— encourages 
beneficial institutions — lends a parental hand to every thing that 
embraces the country's good — contends with the intrigues and 
artful machinations of the emissaries of an insidious, faithless 
jiation— cements the union by hi^ advice and counsel. The sa- 



132 WASHINGTONIANA. 

tlsfaftion that accrued therefrom, must be known to yoii all* 
Almost worn out in the service of his country, he wiilits to 
spend the remainder of an ebbing life in that retirement he had 
so often left to gratify his fellow-citizens, and not his own am- 
bition. Finding her in the meridian of greatness and prosperity, 
he presses his solicitation, and it is granted. He commits the 
care of the national ship, and the guiding of its helm, to l.Is 
experienced and wise fellow-mariner, by whose assistance he 
had navigated her through a revolutionary storm, and brought 
her, to the destined port of peace and tranquillity. He again 
retires to Vernon's pleasing charms, to feast on luxuries and 
dainties that oft have been the theme of the enraptured poet, 
and such as man partook of in the golden age. 

But his career Is not ended — he has not yet ran his race of 
glory — he has not reached the }aU* When a prcspe£l cf dan- 
ger is seen from that power which has deluged Europe in blood, 
ivhich has spread misery and woe to every corner of the habita-' 
ble globe, his country once more looks up to him for projec- 
tion. So long accustomed to obey, he forgets how to deny, 
and once more becomes our shield, our buckler, and rampart of 
safety, against which the artillery of conquest must play in 
vain. We are safe, we are secure, we are inaccessil)le ; we 
repose ourselves in quietness and ease, and drink deep of the 
cup of self-satisfaclion. But, alas ! how short-lived aie these 
enjoyments. This much-valued fortress has been assailed, and 
levelled by the armies of death, who of all enemies alone is in- 
vincible ; and against whom man, powerful in strength, and 
great in his own mightiness, cannot stand. With his breath he 
sweeps thousands into eternity, and at his command nations fall, 
and monarclis resign their sceptres. O, man ! where is thy 
boasted power, that oppresseth the poor, and bindeth down the 
pitiless child of sorrow ? Where is thy fame, honors and glo- 
ries, raised upon thy slaughtered thousands and tens of thou- 
sands ? In a few years all will be forgotten, and decayed with 
thee in the dust ! 

In contemplating this man in his public charadler, the mind 
of the aspiring wretch is brought to its true level, and a sense 



WASHINGTON I ANA. 133 

cT the inconsistency of sclf-iiTiportancej ami tliose pursuits that 
debase and vilify humanity. Nothing could ever deter him from 
reditiide, or the execution of afls set in motion by virtuous 
prinriples. Vanity and pride coulu never persuade him to think 
himself superior to his duty or fellow-mortals, nor could ambi- 
tion influence him to prostrate tlie liberties of bis country. 
Frequently has she enchantingly smiled upon him, and pointed 
out the throne, tbe crown, the grandeur, the elegance and splen- 
dor of state, and invited him to accept of tht;m as a tribute 
from her, due to his superiority over moital man. All to no 
purpose v.ere her alluring, cunning, artful guiles. Substantial 
fame, built not on the gewd-iws cf the world, was his cbje£\ — , 
h.is throne was in the afFeftions of his fellow-citizens, and his 
grandeur and splendour in plainness and the common elegancies 
of the country. The processions and triumphs that elevated 
the generals cf antient Rome, t'ne civic laurels that graced their 
consuls, and since far-famed magistrates of later times, he never 
sought, bat always shunned. ITe considered them as incentives. 
of a lesser kind to promote the elevation of virtuous and honest 
a£ls, and as biubles that vanished with the day. Modesty, 
meekness, humility, politeness, and respecl for the opinions and 
feelings of other men, always charafterized his official condu£\. 
But one particular feature, thiit shines with superior beauty 
and lustre, is his adherence to the religion cf his ancestors with 
uniformity. On all times, when his business permitted, his 
heart dwelt in secret with itself, surveyed its thoughts, its du- 
ties, its a£ls, and brought itself home, as it were, to the great 
Supreme. Will it be detracting his merit:, or throwing a cloud 
over his sun-shine cf glory, to say, that in his public duties he 
was adiuated by it, and the ideas consequent thereto, of a fu- 
ture and of an immortal state ? or will it be telling an untruth ? 
No ! he prided in being a man, the first of the creation, and 
next to none but God. Hence he has uniformly acted up to 
that dignity, required by reason of every individual. How tie- 
gant, how sublime, does he appear in religion 1 How conspicuous 
and dignified in devotion ! — In them we behold a mirror, that 
reflecls his beauties and excellencies with redoubled splendijr. 
The atheist, the deist, may smile upon the mention of this ; 
but let the truth of my assertion penetrate their obdurate, cal- 



,134 WASHINGTONIANA. 

lous hearts, and bring them to convi£lIon, and a sincere, devout 
repentance. Whenever any of you wish to disbelieve, rccolledl 
instantaneously that the greatest and best of men supported that 
very cause from which you are drawing your fiaelity and alle- 
giance, and it will shew your error. What signifies all the plea- 
sures and amusements that the voracious man can possess, and 
\\hat do they avail him, unaccompanied with this the mother 
of all virtues ? It is all vanity, when weighed in the balance of 
the discerning m:r.d, a:id honor without it is but a name. In, 
.his jdomesiic retirement, all the qualifications of the husband, 
endeared him to his amiable, but now widowed, aged consort. 
All the afTcftions of his bosom were occiipied by his country 
and surrounding relatives. — The benevolent and humane dispo- 
sition of his heart were extended to his domestics, and nothing 
was left undone to ameliorate their condition. Complacent and 
agreeable t^ his neighbors ; in company dignified, polished, jo- 
cose' and familiur ; where merit claimed he knew no distinftion, 
and to all alike was sociable. 'I he economical, industrious far- 
mer — the punctual, the honest dealer, the charitable, just, hu- 
mane man. 

Ye affeclionate matrons, teach your little babes to lisp the 
name of Washington,' and listen to the melodious accents com- 
ing from their angel tongues. Ye fair of our country, chaunt 
hymns and anthems to the memory of him who protedled you 
from the poignant of an assassm foe, v,?hen resting in the bosoms 
of your worthy and respeclcd mothers. Ye fathers, ye youth, 
that are now present, view in him the great example, the great 
pattern of human nature, from which you all can borrow, and 
safely copy. When you wish your children or young relatives 
to approximate to perfcdion, set him before them, paint his vir- 
tues and unexampled chara(fter in the most glowing colours ; 
tell them of his greatness, the esteem and love his country bore 
him, and thence raise in their panting breasts the generous pur- 
pose of emulation. Set yourselves the precedent, and precept 
combined with it will have the desired effed. In this manner 
you can immortalizei and rescue him fiom that oblivion so com- 
mon to the grave. O, America 1 thy sun of glory has set fore-t 
ver, below the gloomy horizon of life I The fairest flower in 



WASHINGTONIANA. 135 

thy garden is withered, by the cold, contratSling frost of time I 
The most brilliant gem has fallen from thy crown [ Thy first- 
born is no more ! his eyes are closed in everlasting sleep — he 
has ceased to sorrow — his days were days of trouble — he rest- 
eth from his labors - his soul is in the world of departed spirits 
of heroes, and among his fathers — his body is with us, a testi- 
mony of his absence — his atStions are on record, to ornament 
the historic page of our country, and as an example for rising 
generations. 

When common chara£lers slide from the stage of life, those. 
with whom they are conne«5led cannot but feel emotions of re- 
gret, and pour forth nature's tears, as expressive of their grief 
ard sense of loss. Then must we be less sensible ? Must we 
not sympathize with our brethren, and fellow-citizens at large, 
when so great a personage, connedled to us by so many ties, 
has ceased to a£l any longer his illustrious part in the drama of 
life ? Yes, we must weep, we must mourn, we must condole 
•with his family, and much lamented, aged relic. It is manly, 
and shews the man, the noble heart of sensibility. Invisibly 
and insensibly he points himself out as adequate to the perform- 
ance of the most feeling tasks of private and public society. 
You that are present, and have been witnesses to his exploits in 
the field, transactions in the cabinet, and benevolent ads to- 
wards the destitute widows and orphans of our departed bro- 
thers, must justify my assertion. 

Brothers I he is gone — 1 e has left us in the lodge prepared 
for us — he has given us his blessing — he has enjoined us to prac- 
tise the duties of our association, to continue united, and as one 
upon all occasions to aiSt. He remembert-d the grand road of 
harmony in which he often walked with us, the line of beha- 
vior he himself pursued, the happiness arising therefrom, and~ 
therefore would be more ardent in his direclion for our so do- 
ing. Methinks I hear him from the bed of languishing, ad-- 
dress his country — Peace, union and prosperity attend you j 
euppress division, cherish harmony, friendship, and watch your 
rights and liberties with an eagle eye ; be not too su?picious of 
«ach other, and let the welfare of your country be your pri. 



136 WASHINGTON! AN A. 

mary objeft ; guard against foreign influence, and In ycur dis- 
tant connedions adl the impartial part. This is my advice. I 
know the value of your treasures : if you foUdw it you will ar- 
rive at power, greatnefs and respeftability. Methuiks I novr 
hear him, speaking with all the tenderness of paternal affefticu 
to his surrcunding family, assembled to witness the most solemn, 
distressing and mournful of all scenes. I hear those wholesome 
words, of instrudlion, given to them, from the mouth of the dy- 
ing sage — Fear your God, love your country, honour ycur pa- 
rents, and yoii will live long and be happy. I see him extend- 
ing his aged hand, to take the last long adieu of his dear com- 
panion. For her he almost wishes to live. He checks the 
thought, looks up to heaven, and says, " Father, thy will, and 
not mine, be done." 1 see tfiat heroic fire which animated his 
eye, dwindling away, like a dying lamp — the glow of colour, of 
■which age has not yet deprived his fun owed, manly cheek, fad- 
ing gradually away. Alas ! I see him firm and unshaken, un- 
daunted at the terrific form of death, expire. I see his vene- 
rable corse, speaking the greatness of his just now departed spi- 
rit. I see his pure, unspotted soul, mounting on seraphic wings, 
iiscend to its place of rest. I sec myriads of angels, conduct- 
ing him through vaulted skies, and welcoming the celestial stran- 
ger. I see the gates of heaven unfolding to his sight the most 
magnificent of all scenes, everlasting happiness, and an eternal 
blaze of bliss. I see him enter with that humility which accom- 
panied him through life. I hear songs of praise, exulting of che- 
rubim and hallelujahs to the great king of heaven. 

We have indeed lost a brother ; our association has been vi- 
sited by death, the grand tyler of that lodge in realmns of bliss. 
He has summoned our brother masonry's favorite to its grand 
tribunal, to give an account of his workmanship and labors, and 
receive the glorious plaudit-^ — " Wtll done, good and faithiul ser- 
vant." 

Hence this melancholy that pervades every countenance. 
Hence these gloomy badges of death. Let us cease to mourn ; 
let cur tears of sorrow become those of joy ; let the bright 
beams of gladness enliven every face, and gratitude to Him who 



WASHINGTONIANA. 137 

sits abovCj swell our bosoms. Venerable shade ! peace attend 
Tthy silent mansion in the tomb : and wretched let him be, who, 
with unhallowed hands, disturbs thy sacred rest. Nature her- 
self shall end, but for thee there is no possible bound. You 
shaH behold the dropping of the great curtain of time, and be 
present when nature shall groan through all her works. " Look 
forward," brothers, fellow-mortals,.." dart an eye beyond the 
present ; explore the future and the unknown." — " Let neither 
the changes of time, nor the vicissittides of fortune, limit your 
enlarged view." " In fond anticipation range the unbounded 
universe." Visit the seats of bliss. " Bathe in the sea of di- 
vine lOve, and refledl in celestial splendor the honors of the one 
"Supreme." You shall be present with our departed brother, in 
that ble'ssed lodge where all lodges are congregated, and with 
him behold the grandest and most terrible of scenes. The works 
tof mah you shall see then in their own insignificance. Crea- 
tion shall shudder through all htrjibwers, and " strong convul- 
sions disjoint her frame." High arid unmoved ye shall see far 
beneath the livid flash of forked lightning, and hear the awful 
thunder's repefctirsive' roar, loud, bellowing through the af- 
frighted deep, " When new worlds in order and beauty ascend 
from the confusioUj ye shall join the melodious choir of all the 
children of light," and shout for joy. To restored nature 
brighter suns shall roll in yonder firmament — *' sweeter harmony 
warble among the spheres, while the intelligent creatures of 
God shall muse in expressive silence on their unbounded bliss." 
Assured of this, let then " the earth dissolve, let yonder sun 
be struck from its centre," and wheel in disorder 'through infi- 
nite space — '* let the stars and planets, rushing from their or- 
bits, clash in horrid contention," — yoUr immortal souls shall 
ascend in safety to that grand lodge above. 

t 
Now may that being, who gave him to us, to answer his 
own purposes, and who in his infinite wisdom has taken him to 
his fatherly bosom, long continue to protcft and prosper our 
useful associations, and be a father to our fatherless, orphan 
country. 



138 WASHINGTONIANA. 

Funeral oration on the death oj brother George Washincvov, 
Prepared at the request of the masonic lodge^ No. lA:^ of JVil- 
mington, state of Delaware^ and delivered on St. John the 
Evangelist's day, being the 27 tb of December, anno lucis 5799t 
By Gunning Bedford, A, M. 

My friends and felloia-citizens, 

CALLED upon by a respeftable society, with whom I am 
connefted by the ties of friendship and brotherly love, to 
aid them in paying funeral honors to their grand master, and 
the most illustrious of men, I felt all that diffidence arising 
from a want of abilities to do justice to so important a subject, 
and from the shortness of time allowed for preparation. 

But knowing that every one could make the same excuse, 
though with less justice than myself ; and an affe<£lionate society 
and grateful people, requiring some immediate testimony of re- 
spedl to be paid to the memory of the beloved Washington, I 
have ventured with unfeigned hesitation upon the diflicuh task. 

To your candor I submit myself; and in the motives which 
have brought me here, I trust in your generous bosoms I can 
read an apology, for every defeft which may appear in that ora- 
tion I shall now deliver. 

Upon an occasion the most solemn ever witnessed by Ame- 
rica, listen to the voice of eternal truth — " It is better to go 
to the house of mourning, than to the house of feasting ;"— 
for none of us " liveth to himself, and no man dieth to him- 
lelf." * 

But there are some men, illuminated with a purer ray of di- 
vinity — patriots of the first magnitude, who in a peculiar sense 
may be said to live and die, not to themselves, but to others. 
Endowed with that superior excellence, which does honor to our 
•whole species, the virtuous of every nation claim kindred witk 

* The exordium is principally taken from JDr» Smith's oration 
to the memory of Gen, Montgomery and others* 



WASHINGTONIANA. IS9 

Jthcm, and the general interests of humanity are concerned in 
their charadlers. 

In veneration for such men, to exchange the accustomed 
walks of pleasure for the house of mourning — to bedew its sa- 
cred recesses with tears of gratitude to their memory — to strive, 
if possible, to catch some portion of their etherial spirit, as it 
mounts from this earthly sphere, into perfeft union with conge- 
nial spirits above — is a laudable custom, coeval with society, 
and sandlioned by the example of the wisest nations. 

It was the manner of the Egyptians, the fathers of arts and 
sciences, not only to celebrate the names, but to embalm the 
bodies, of their deceased heroes, that they might long be pre- 
served in public view, as examples of virtue, and although dead 
yet speaking. 

But this honor was not easily to be obtained, nor was it in- 
discriminately bestowed. It was decreed only by the public 
voice of a venerable assembly of judges ; before whom the body 
of the deceased was brought for trial, and solemnly acquitted 
pr'condemned upon the evidence of the people. 

Even kings themselves, however much spared when alive, 
for the sake of public tranquillity, had still this more than fiery 
ordeal before their eyes ; and by the example of some of their 
number, who had been refused sepulchre in those very tomb« 
which their pride had prepared to their own memory, were taught 
both to venerate and to dread a law which extended its punish- 
ments beyond the usual time of oblivion. 

The moral of this institution was truly sublime, constantly 
inculcating a most important lesson, that whatever distinftions 
pur wants and vices may render necessary, in this short and imi- 
perfeft state of our being, they are all cancelled by the hand of 
death ; and through the untried periods which succeed, virtue 
and beneficence will make the true distinctions, and be the only 
fQundations of happiness and renownt 



140 WASHINGTONIANA. 

The enlightened Athenians had an express law, appointing 
orations and public funerals in honor of those who gloriously 
sacrificed their lives to their country. Thucydides has recorded 
a celebrated oration of this kind, delivered by Pericles. The 
illustrious speaker, after a most animated description of the amor 
patria^ the love of country, which he exalts above all human 
virtues, turns to the deceased — 

" Having bestowed their lives to the public, every one of 
them, says he, hath received a praise that will never die— a se- 
pulchre which will always be most illustrious ; not that in which 
their bones lie mouldering, but that in which their fame is pre- 
served. The whole world is the sepulchre of illustrious citizens, 
and their inscription is written upon the hearts of all good men." 

The Romany rewarded deeds of public virtue according to 
their magnitude, with statues, triumphs, peculiar badges of dress 
at public solemnities, and songs of praise to the living as well 
as to the dead. 

Republican France, ever since her regeneration, has been 
in the practice of decreeing funeral honors and orations to those 
whom she has deemed worthy of them. 

And congress early in our revolution resolved, that a funeral 
oration should be delivered in honor of general Montgomery, 
and those officers and soldiers, who magnanimously fought and 
fell with him, in maintaining the principles of American lif 
bcrty. 

This mode of paying respe A to departed heroes and patriots, 
seems well calculated for republican governments. They arp 
necessarily careful of bestowing honors upon the living, but may 
with great safety and propriety liberally bestow them upon the 
dead. 

It must therefore give pleasure to every citizen of America 
to know, that the president of the United States, penetrated 
with grief for the great loss his country has sustained, and en- 



WASHINGTONIANA. 141 

tertalning the most exalted opinion of the charafter of the de- 
ceased, has committed " to an afleftionate and grateful people, 
in whose hearts he can never die, to pay suitable honors to his 
memory." 

Thy recommendation, worthy Adams, will be most faithfully 
obeyed, by that honorable body to whom thou hast committed 
the mournful trust. An afFei^ionate and grateful people will 
raise a monument to his memory, which shall command the at- 
tention and respedl of the world ! It is already begun ! the foun- 
dations are laid ! America is weeping through all her forests— 
her towns and cities are shrouded Avith black, and covered with 
mourning — nothing is heard but the still sounds of woe, and 
universal condolence — all business is suspended , and an awful 
silence pervades our country, as if nature herself had made a 
pause ! 

Early in life this great man, whose death we now deplore, 
was highly distinguished by his country. In seventeen hundred 
and fifty-four, he held the co\nmission of colonel in the service 
of Virginia, in the war tljen carried on by Great-Britain and 
the colonies against the French and Indians, 

In fifty-five he gave a striking instance of that disinterested- 
ness which afterwards characterized all his aftions. By a royal 
arrangement of rank, no officer who did not derive his commis- 
sion immediately from the king, could command one who did. 
Colonel Washington cheerfully relinquished his regiment, and 
accompanied general Braddock, as an extra aid-de-camp. 

In this capacity he rendered the most important service, by 
extricating the troops from the fatal ambuscade, which cost the 
life of general Braddock, most of his officers, and the discom- 
fiture of the whole army. In covering the retreat, and saving 
the wreck of this army, he displayed the greatest abilities. The 
public prints in Britain and America, were full of applauses for 
the essential service he had rendered upon so trying an occa- 
sion* 



H2 WASHINGTONIANA. 

The regulation of rank being afterwards settled, to the $a- 
tisfaftion of the colonial officers, Virginia, impressed v/ith a 
due sense of his merits, gave him an extensive commission to 
command all the troops raised or to be raised in that colony. 
In this character he continued to defend and proteft the fron- 
tiers, with the greatest skill and bravery, and commanded the 
van brigade of gcaeral Forbs's army at the capture of Fort du 
Qnesne, in fifty-eight. 

Trakqtjillity being restored on the frontiers of the middle 
colonies, and colonel Washington's health having materially 
suffered, by incessant fatigue and unremitted attention to duty, 
in fifty-nine lie resigned his military appointment. Authentic 
documents exhibit the tender regret which the Virginia line ex- 
pressed at parting with their commander, and the affedlionate 
regard which he entertained for them. 

Amidst the numerous great lights which civil calamity pro- 
duced in our country, during her struggle for liberty and inde- 
pendence, Washington shone with distinguished lustre, and rose 
pre-eminently above the rest. 

Blest with the most commanding figure — a dignity which 
Corcibly impressed all beholders — a complacency of manners — 
a mind highly cultivated, and stored Avith knowledge — and a 
military fame so honorably acquired ; he seemed formed by na- 
ture for great and glorious deeds, and pointed out by the hand 
«f Deity to America, as her revolutionary chief. 

It would be incompatible with our present design, to mention 
\n detail the various plans he devised, or the systems he pursijed 
to proteiSl and defend our country during a seven years' war, 
against a most powerful enemy. They are fresh in the memory 
of many of us, and recorded in the annals of America for the 
information of all. Suffice it in this place to say, he surmounted 
more difficuUies than any other general ever encountered. — his 
attention to discipline, raised our army to respectability and rcr 
nown — his vigilance and prudence, defeated all the plans and 
devices of the enemy — his valor and military knowledge cxf 



- WASHINGTONIANA. 145 

tited the wonder and conunanded the admiration of all. A fa- 
ther to his soldiers, he endured in common with them all the 
fatigues of war, in suminer's heat and winter's cold. A brave 
commander, he always seized the most proper moment to at- 
tack the foe ; but when inferior in force, and subjeded to pri- 
vations which rendered adion imprudent, Fabius-like he eluded 
•them by the most judicious movements, 'till they in their turn 
were reduced by casualties and drawn from their resources- 
then, sudden as the unexpedled whirlwind, would they behold 
Washington before them, to their terror, confusion and defeat 1 

Here let me borrow the animated description of a French 
officer of great celebrity as a soldier and a philosopher, who 
served under him : * — " Brave without temerity, laborious with- 
out ambition, generous without prodigality, noble without pride, 
virtuous without severity ; he seems always to have confined 
himself within those limits, where the virtues by clothing them- 
selves in more lively but more changeable colours, may be mis- 
taken for faults. Let it be repeated, that Gonde was intrepid, 
Turenne prudent, Eugene adroit, Gatinet disinterested. It is 
not thus Washington will be charafterized. It will be said of 
him, at the end of a long civil war, he had nothing with which 
he could reproach himself. If any thing can be more marvel- 
lous than such a charafter, it is the unanimity of the public suf- 
frages in his favor. Soldier, magistrate, people, all love and 
admire him ; all speak of him in terms of tenderness and the 
highest veneration." 

Behold, then, this illustrious general, having by his valor 
and prudence conducted us as a " pillar of cloud" by day, and 
a '* pillar of fire" by night, to a happy and honorable peace, 
humbly bending before congress, in seventeen hundred and 
eighty-three, surrounded by a numerous concourse of citizens, 
and resigning his commission, accompanied with the following 
pathetic address. See appendix, p. T7 » 

It is easier to conceive than express the effeft such a solemn 
scene lud upon those who beheld it. Tears gush from every 

* Tbe liiarquis de Cifastelleux, 



144 WASHINGTONIANA. 

eye— their bosoms swell -with the generous glow of the most 
fervent gratitude and afFeftion— while congress, impressed with 
the magnitude of the ad, in faultering accents assure him, 
they receive with emotions too affeding for utterance, the so- 
lemn resignation of the authorities under which he had led their 
troops with success, through a perilous and doubtful war. They 
tell him, he had accepted the sacred charge of defending his 
country's rights, before any alliances were formed, and when 
we were without funds, or a government to support him — that 
he had condufted the great military contest, with wisdom apd 
fortitude, invariably regarding the rights of the civil power 
through all disasters and changes — that he had displayed the 
martial genius of his fellow-citizens, and transmitted their fame 
.to posterity — that in defending the standard of liberty in this 
new world, he had taught a lesson useful to those who inflid, 
and to those who feel oppression — that he retires from the great 
theatre of aftion with the blessings of his country — that the 
glory of his virtues will not terminate with his military com- 
mand, but will continue to animate the remotest ages. They 
join with him in commending the interests of their common 
country, to the protection of Almighty God, beseeching him to 
dispose the hearts and minds of its citizens to improve the op- 
portunity afforded them of becoming a happy and respedlable 
nation. And address the throne of grace in earnest prayers, 
that a life so beloved may be fostered with all its care — that 
his days may be happy as they have been illustrious ; and that 
he finally may receive that reward, which the world cannot give I 

This great scene can only be heightened by the refledlion, 
that this hero, thus beloved by all, and almost adored by his 
army, buoyed above the axioms of interest and ambition, 
which govern most men, resolved, by the most magnanimous 
sacrifice, to put it out of his own power to make use of their 
affeftions to promote the one, or of his rank to advance the 
other. 

Ths world looked with astonishment and admiration, at so 
disinterested and noble an aClion. 



WASHINGTONIANA. 145 

The good sense of America, having convinced them of the 
inefficacy of the first instruraent of their confederacy, a great 
convention of the states is called, to new-model the league. 
Washington presides in this venerable assembly — and by his 
great weight and influence, added to the labors of others, our 
present constitution was produced. 

The current of the afTeftions of the people, had so long sat 
towards this beloved man, and his great and illustrious deeds 
having swelled it to a mighty stream, they look forward with 
joy to the opportunity, which was about to be presented to,, 
them, of making a noble display of that gratitude which had 
swollen their bosoms, and was now ready to overflow. 

Washington is called by the unanimous suffrages of a great 
and free people, to take the chair of supreme magistracy. 

The bright sun of American happiness then shone with me- 
ridian splendor ! The protedlor — the defender — the political sa- 
vior of their country, was now to diredl the helm of state, and 
every man felt himself safe and secure under his guidance. Hi- 
therto loved as a soldier, now adored as a statesman — clothed 
■with the power of the United States, and looking with native 
majesty in his exalted seat, he seemed " a wall cf fire round 
about us," and a " glory in the midst of us 1" 

The wisest establishments arose — the most wholesome pro- 
visions were made, for the peace, safety and prosperity of our 
country — commerce flourished — agriculture was improved, and 
every art encouraged. Our name rose with lustre upon the Eu- 
ropean world. They admired — but they envied us. They could 
not behold the rising glory of America without jealousy. 

The time limited by the constitution for the continuance in 
office of the president, at length expires. But the fountains 
of gratitude, fixed deep in the inmost recesses of the heart, be- 
ing ever inexhaustible, and now replenished by the merits of a 
four years' labor and service devoted to the best interests of his 

T 



U6 WASHINGTONIANA. 

country, a faithful people again cry out, with one voice— All 
bail, president Washington I 

These instances of the affedlion and confidence of his coun- 
try, so often repeated, fortified his mind against the difficulties 
that were to ensue. 

France had proceeded far in her new organization, and as- 
sumed the appearance of a regular government. She was first 
welcomed by Washington, in the name of America, as a sister 
republic. We considered her contest for freedom, congenial 
with that which we had accomplished. She gained upon our 
afTctftions, and we felt an interest in every thing that regarded 
her happiness, and ultimate success. But, alas ! ambition grew 
out of her vi£lories ; and instead of confining herself within 
the limits prescribed by her antient kingdom, she extended her 
conquests abroad, encouraged revolution every where, and seemed 
to aim at universal domination. 

The pure mind of Washington, which had long studied and 
perfeftly understood the rights of man and of nations, beheld 
with regret the virtuous struggle of twenty-five millions of peo- 
ple to rescue themselves from slavery, converted by the arts 
and intrigues of designing leaders, to the wild enthusiasm and 
extravagance of universal emancipation from government and 
law. Insidious measures were taken to Involve this country in 
the vortex of European politics. England, jealous of our at- 
tachment to republican principles, and counting upon our par- 
tiality to France, made great depredations upon our commerce ; 
and every thing seemed to announce an approaching war. 

Our government having taken the dignified attitude of neu- 
trality, was Avilling to hold the scales even, and do equal jus- 
tice to the contending nations. But we are threatened from 
without, and assailed from within — The whisper of corruption 
is heard ! 

In the midst of these confli£llng dangers, the steady, intre- 
pid Washington, who had so often exposed his life for his coun- 



WASHINGTON I AN A. 147 

try, and was always ready to lay it down for her service, was 
now even willing to risk a reputation more dear than life, to se- 
cure her peace and prn?perity. "With a magnanimity truly he- 
roic, colleci:ing all the energies of his great mind, and pursuing 
the principles which had invariably governed his whole lile, to 
do what be thought -was right, he signs a treaty with Great-Bri- 
tain. 

It would be highly improper to discuss the merits of this mea- 
sure here. We ought to be satisfied in knowing and believing, 
that through the whole tenor of the most important life, which 
had been open to the inspection of all, he never decided upon 
one public aft, without the most mature consideration, the ful- 
lest convi£lion of its propriety, and having the best interests of 
his country always at heart. 

Who can now possibly calculate, or who ever could with any 
certainty calculate, what might be the situation of this country 
at the present raoment, if that treaty had not been concluded ? 
Instead of that peace which we have thus long enjoyed, our 
commerce might have been ruined, our sea-port towns burnt 

and destroyed, and our sea-coast an howling desart ! But I 

forbear. 

Considerations like these ought ever to have closed the 
mouth of censure, and checked the clamor of party. If it has 
arose against the sacred name of Washington, what future cha- 
rafter can escape its baneful influence 1 

Oh, my fellow-citizens 1 on this mournful occasion, while 
mingling my tears with yours over the *tomb of this most excel- 
lent of men, my heart is rent at the anticipated evils and calami- 
ties, that inevitably await our belovejl country, if this spirit of 
discontent, jealousy and party, is not discountenanced and sup- 
pressed. Why will ye yourselves, elevate men to the most dig- 
nified and important situations, and then suffer their bosoms to 
be wounded with calumny, and their spirits to be harrassed with 
continual distrust ? Is not the constitution, the constitution of 
your own free choice ? Are not the men who administer the go- 
vernment the men of your own free choice ? Are not their times 



143 WASHINGTON J AN A. 

of service limited to a short period ? and do they not then return 
into the mass ct" citizens', to meet your censure, or receive your 
applause ? Are not these sufficient securities for your liberties, 
and a wise and faithful administration ? 

The murmurs of discontent soon swell into party; party 
rises into faftion, and faftion hath hitherto broke out into in- 
surredlion. The strong arm of Washington is no more — the 
steady and decisive Adams, will one day also be added to his 
fathers. When the sword of the laws shall fall into feebler 
hands, and the people array themselves into more equal and 
more violent parties ; who can answer that intestine commo- 
tion, civil war, and the destruftion of our government, will 
not be the probable consequence ? 

Reflect, I beseech you, in time ! Let us unite in calming 
the minds of our countrymen — in healing the wounds party hath 
already made ; and, as the best offering to the manes of our 
departed friend and bencfaftor, let us bring all our political con- 
tentions, at this solemn moment, and bury them forever in his 
grave ! — His beneficent spirit will look down with complacence 
upon the sacrifice, and accept it as the best tribute to his me- 
mory. 

This great man, at length worn down by the incessant fa- 
tigue of public employments, solicits his fellow-citizens to suf- 
fer him to retire ; and to spare him the pain of refusing to obey 
their voice, by not calling him again from his retreat. He 
prays them to sele£l some other charaiSler among those, whom 
his generous diffidence assures them, are equally, if not better 
qualified than himself, to diredl tl)C reins of government. 

Gkatitude for his past labors — love and veneration for his 
virtues, and a conviftion that his years required repose, induce 
America to comply with his request. 

A SECOND time we see this illustrious characler, disrobing 
himself of the insignia of public office ; now voluntarily de- 
scending from the seat of state, and joyfully mixing with his 
fellow-citizens as a private man I— -Yet he could not leave a peo- 



WASHINGTONIANA. 149 

pie who had so long been the objects of his vigilance, attention 
and care, Avithout still some farther evidence of his esteem 
Behold the memorial * of his love and afFeftion ! It is the fare- 
well address of president Washington 1 Precious legacy I Read 
it, my countrymen— treasure up its precepts in your hearts. Its 
contents are the result of the experience of a life dedicated to 
your service, with the best means of acquiring a knowledge of 
human nature, of government, and the intrigues of courts. If 
properly attended to, and followed, it will be worth more to 
America than the wealth of the Indies. 

We new see this good man in the bosom of his family, im- 
proving his favorite seat ; surrounded with domestic bliss, and 
enjoying that repose which he had so long wished for, and which 
his feeling heart was so well fitted to relish. 

One would think nothing could ever draw him from this re- 
tirement, so necessary to his peace and declining years — and 
that it would be almost ungrateful to ask it. But our country 
liad not yet attained to that state of tranquillity which his 
wishes had fondly hoped. In despite of the wise and honorable 
policy pursued by our government, we are again alarmed from 
abroad. The turbulent waves of war roll across the Atlantic 
towards our coast, and threaten to break upon our shores. Ac- 
tive measures of defence are taking, and an army is raising. All 
eyes look anxiously around for a commander, and the good ge- 
nius of America still directs them to Washington. Delicacy 
almost forbids the approach. The wise Adams hesitates to 
make the request : But the venQrable hero meets the wishes of 
his country, — I come, he cries, to devote the remainder of my 

life to your service, if I can do any more good. He did thus 

devote it ; for in the charadler of commander in chief of the ar- 
mies of the United States, he ended his days. 

What a noble example of humility, disregard of personal 
ease, and enthusiastic love of country ! Thrice has he exhibited 

* Here the fareviell address ivas held up to the view of the 
audience. 



150 WASHINGTONTANA. 

to America, the most exalted proofs of disinterestedness and 
niagnanimity 1 and thrice has he astouished the world 1 * 

To all the distinguished features which charadlerize the illus- 
trious man, he alr.o added a probity of heart which has never 
brtn equalled, and a modest diffidence in his own abilities, 
■which gave the highest finish to his exalted virtues. 

Hear this moving language, in his address to the people of 
the United States. See appendix, p. 33. 

EvRN in his last moments too ! as if every acl of his life 
■was to become instrui5tive, and every word a precept, he incul- 
cates the most important lesson upon mankind — " I do not fear 
death ; I have miade my will, my affairs are in good order, and 
my public business only two days behind." — With caln^ness, 
he resigns himself into the hands of his creator — with compo- 
sure he falls asleep in death I 

Well may the voice of lamentation be heard throughout our 
land 1 never had a country so much cause for mourning ! Well may 
Tsre cry out, " O 1 that our heads were waters, and our eyes 
fountains of tears," that we might continually weep over so 
irreparable a loss i Never can we again witness so solemn an 
occasion to call forth universal sorrow. But once in eighteen 
centuries, hath so perfeil; a charadler appeared to adorn the 
■world ! Happy the future age, that can boast cf such a man ! 
And thrice happy America, which gave birth to so illustri- 
ous a citizen 1 — Compared wilh him, the renowned sages of an- 
tiquity — the niighty princes of the earth — and the great con- 
querors of the v/orld — all shrink back, and yield him a most just 
pre-eminence. 

To abler orators, I leave a more particular description of the 
numerous and varied virtues of this great man. By them his 

* Alluding' to his resigning the command of the revolutionary 
army at the end of the war — bis refusing to continue as presi- 
dent of the United States — and bis afterwards acting in the sub- 
ordinate character of commander of tbe armies. 



WASHINGTONIANA. 151 

praise -will be sounded much further than my feeble voice ran 
reach. The faithful page of history will record his fame. 
There it shall live, while the smallest vestiges of literature re- 
main upon earth — yea, 'till " the cloud-capt towers, the gorge- 
ous palaces, the solemn temples, this great globe itself, and all 
which it inherit, shall dissolve, and like the baseless fabric of a 
vision, leave not a wreck behind." Nor shall it perish then— 
but being the immediate care of heaven, " the great archangel, 
when he sweeps suns and systems from their place, and kindles 
up their last fires, stretching forth his mighty arm, shall snatch 
the deathless scroll from the devouring conflagration, and place 
it among the archives of eternity." 

One further circumstance must not be omitted, In justice to 
that society who have honored me with this place, and whose 
boast it is that Washington was their grand master. To the 
fashionable philosophers of the present day, it may appear of 
little consequence, but upon this foundation are built all our 
works. 

To the chara(3:er of hero and patriot, this good man added 
that of christian. All his public communications breathe a pure 
spirit of piety, a resignation to tlie will of heaven, and a firm re- 
liance upon the providence of God. In those atchlevements 
which redounded most to his reputation, we hear him exclaim- 
ing with king David, " Not unto us, not unto us, O ! Lord, 
but to thy name be the honor and praise."- Although the great- 
est man upon earth, he disdained not to humble himself before 
his God, and to trust in the mercies of Christ. He regularly at- 
tended in the temples of the Most High, and joined with his 
fellow mortals, in paying adoration to the Supreme Governor 
of tlie universe, and in supplicating blessings for his country, 
and pardon and forgiveness for himsel f— - For thyself, christian 
hero and patriot ! thy prayers have been heard. Thy blessed 
spirit hath ascended from this terrestrial orb, to mingle with 
congenial spirits above ! There thou wilt indeed receive thy 
best reward ! There thou wilt drink of those rivers of joy and 
gladness, that flow from the right hand of the throne of God I 
7 here thou wilt be welcomed by the whole host of heaven ! — 



152 WASHINGTONIANA. 

Oh 1 that we liad angels' wings, that we might follow him, and 
■witness his joyful reception into those blest abodes ! — Behold 
the gates of heaven are thrown wide open ! See the band of 
heroes and martyrs in their country's cause, rushing out to meet 
their chief, and welcoming him to immortal glory ! See the ve- 
nerable train of patriots, sages and statesmen, advancing to bid 
him hail, to mansions of eternal peace and rest ! Angels and 
archangels, and ten thousand times ten thousand glorified spi- 
rits, tune their harps at his approach, and the great vault of 
heaven resounds with one universal song of " Hosanna to the 
Highest 1" — " Come, come, thou blessf;d of" our " Father, in- 
herit the kingdom prepared for you, from the foundation of the 
world !" 

On I that we may all " die the death of the righteous, and 
may our latter end be like his !" 

We, my brothers, lamenting in common Avith our fellow-ci- 
tizens, over the grave of this great and good man, yet feel his 
loss peculiarly afflicSling to us, in the relation he stood to our 
lodges. 

Although high and exalted in charader and rank, yet he 
always walked upon the level with a brother. Although par- 
ticularly attached to this his native country, which had so loved 
and honored him, yet his extensive benevolence embraced the 
great cihcle of mankind. In all his aftions he was governed 
by thCvSCiUARE of doing unto others as he would wish they 
should do unto him ; and he ever kept within the compass of 
good will to all men. 

He was indeed a great light, sent to us by the Grand Master 
above, to illuminate our darkness here beloAV. But it has pleased 
Divine Providence to call him back from houses built with clay, 
to " mansions not built with hands, eternal in the heavens." 

Thosk eyes which have looked with so much pleasure upon 
a brother, are now closed in death. Those ears which have lis- 
tened with so much attention to their complaints, are now stop- 



WASHINGTONIANA. 153 

ped in dust. And those hands which have been so often ex- 
tended to relieve their wants and distress, -will never be raised 
more. 

Let us, then, seeing that death cometh alike unto all men, 
improve this solemn instance of mortality. Let us be up and 
doing the work of our hands, while it is yet day, before the 
night of death overtake us, in which no man can work. Let 
us embrace the present moment, to provide for that great 
change, when the pleasures of this world shall cease to delight, 
and the refledlions of a life spent in the exercise of virtue and 
piety, yield the only comfort and consolation. 

Let us copy the bright example of this our most beloved bro- 
ther, and by a sacred regard to his memory, and our own so- 
lemn engagements, pursue with unremitted assiduity, the tenets 
of our profession. Let us feed the hungry, clothe the naked, 
visit the sick and the affli£led ; do justice, love mercy, and walk 
humbly with our God. Then shall we be able to silence " the 
tribe of scorners, and to convince them, the only qualities we 
wish to honor, are those which form good men and good citi- 
zens ; and the only buildings we seek to raise, are temples for 
virtue and dungeons for vice." 

Finally, let us with becoming reverence, supplicate the 
throne of grace, that we may secure the favor of that Eternal 
Being, whose goodness and power knoweth no bounds. Thus 
shall our expedlation not be disappointed, nor shall we be hur- 
ried unprepared into the presence of that awful Judge, to whom 
the secrets of all hearts are known ; but may entertain the hum- 
ble hope, that after we have performed our weary pilgrimage 
here below, we shall each of us be received into the great tem- 
ple above, with the cheering salutation, " Well done thou good 
and faithful servant, enter tLou into the joys of thy Lord 1" 

Oh ! thou great and mighty I AM ! who said, Let there be 
light — and there was light ! who spoke this world into being, 
by the word of thy mouth, and who disposeth of all events here 
below, as to thee in thy wisdom seeraeth best ! Look down ia 

U 



154 WASHINGTONIANA. 

compassion, we humbly beseech thee ! upon the sorrows of a 
•whole people ! May their sighs and tears, come up before thy 
throne, as an acceptable sacrifice at the shrine of virtue 1 Al- 
though thou hast wrote bitter things against us, yet let us ne- 
ver distrust thy providence 1 In six troubles thou hast delivered 
us, and in seven thou wilt not forsake us ! 

Raise up, oh. Supreme Architedi ! for our distrest lodges, 
another light, which shall be as a fire in the midst of us, and 
a glory round about us ! — And oh I for our country, Heaverily 
Fatlier ! raise up another Washington— one who shall be equally 
loved— equally admired— equally confided in ; and to whom thou 
shalt direct the eyes of this great nation, as thou hast done in 
times past, to that ever to be lamented man I 

Now to the triune God, * the Father, the Son, and the Holy 
Ghost, be ascribed all honor and dominion, for ever more— 
Amen. 

AjaEK .' So let it ever be. 



After the oration, the follotoing elegiac ode, prepared for tie 
occasion, was sung bj a choir. 

TUHE AOMONIfJON. 

DESCEND, St. John, attune the plaintive lyre. 
And through Columbia's regions spread abroad, 
The mournful loss of her beloved sire 5 
Call'd to the bosom of his father, God. 

The trump of fame annolinces his translation, 
To the grand lodge of infinite duration. 

• Here the masonic body rose^ and on mention of the words. Fa- 
ther, Son and Holy Ghost, gave the sign or symbol of divine bo- 
mage and obeisance ; concluding with the response^ 
« AuEN ! So let it ever be .'" 



WASHINGTONIANA. 155 

The Master Warden summon'd him away, 

On Jacob's ladder he ascends above, 
To the bright regions of eternal day, 
To join the chorus of redeeming love. 

The trump of fame announces his translation. 
To the grand lodge of infinite duration. 

Cut can Columbians e'er forget the day, 

When proud oppressio^i bath'd our fields in gore. 
Great Washington withstood the dire affray. 

And swept the invaders from our ravag'd shore ! 
The trump of fame announces his translation, 
To the great captain of his soul's salvation. 

The monarch may forget his pearly crown, 

The mother may forget her first-born souj 
The bridegroom may forget his lovely bride. 
But we'll remember thee, O Washington I 

And while thy name adorns Columbia's story, 
Her sons shall sound thy virtue and thy glory. 



Eulogtum^ delivered' to a large concourse of respectable citizens, 
at the state-bouse, in the town of Dover, in commemoration 
of the death of general George WASHiNCfoN, By Johh 
FiifiNG, Esq, 

Friends and felloiv-citizens, 

IT is with the greatest dijfidence I rise upon the present so- 
lemn occasion to address this numerous, this respectable au- 
ditory — 'tis with the utmost humility, I contrast myself with 
the sublime theme that now occupies your attention. I feel, 
that no language or expression of mine, can do the least jua- 



156, WASHINGTON! ANA. 

tice to the elevation at which my ideas would aspire, or that my 
ideas, can possibly correspond with the sublimity of my subjeft. 
Indeed the very day, appointed for this commemoration, adds to 
my embarrassment — and surely must to your sympathy and sen- 
sibility. 

This is the anniversary, that announced to the world the na- 
tivity of the hero, the patriot, the sage — this is the day, that 
by governmental recommendation, solemnizes, in funeral pomp 
and in public eulogy, the dissolution of our Washington. 

This is the anniversary, that used to fill every American bo- 
som with the strongest emotions of gratitude and joy, — this is 
the day that plunges America in deepest afHiftion, 

This is the anniversary, that when the curtain was drawn 
up, the grand — the novel spectacle was exhibited to the world, 
of millions of free people, rendering just tribute and grateful 
homage to their illustrious benefaftor— .to their chosen chief. 
This, alas ! is the day that beholds the curtain drop, and hide, 
forever from our view, tlof hero of our independence, the cham- 
pion of our liberties — the preserver of our rights — and the faith- 
ful guardian of our nation's glory — Sad vicissitude 1 — mourn- 
ful contrast ! 

To do justice to a subjeft like this, requires a reach of 
thought extensive as the horizon, that encircles the globe— an 
elevation of mind, that can soar to those immeasurable realms, 
bounded only by the canopy of heaven. Here silence would be 
eloquence, and expressive thought should eulogize his fame. 

Like tlie refulgent luminary of day, he rose— he ascended 
to his bright meridian — and like that splendid orb, retired at 
eve, and left the world in darkness and in sorrow. In what 
mansion of bliss, greatest and best of men, dost thou now re- 
side ?-^What celestial planet does thy capacious soul, with all 
the virtues that adorned humanity nfid enriched the universe^ 
now illume ? 



WASHINGTONIANA. 1 57 

Methinks even now I see his radiant form, with smile be- 
nign with courteous dignity — ministering to his country the 

lesson, his life had taught — " Your destiny is at your own com- 
mand — Be united — Peace and glory await you — Divide, disho- 
nor and ruin mark your inevitable doom." 

What though pompous mausoleums, rise upon his tomb ! — 
What though pyramids of monumental marble be erefted over 
his grave, still shall his deathless fame outlive them all. It will 
triumphantly sail along the Stream of time, bearing his virtues 
and his name to latest ages — with no adverse wind to impede 
its course, — no sands or rocks to hazard its loss — but gently 
passing on 'till it reach the last, most distant shore of all- 
there eternity ready to rescue it from the general wreck will 
seize the immortal trophy, and place it where its lustre can ne- 
ver tarnish — where it must live forever. 

The death of this transcendant — this elevated being, leaves 
but one thought in our bosoms — that Washington is no more ! — 
that the hero of the western world is gone for ever ! — a thought 
extensive as the universe, — boundless as his virtues, — and li- 
mited only by those skies, to which his great soul has ascended. 
The bright effulgence of his charafter, shed its influence on all 
around. Heroes sprang up at his name, and patriotism, kin- 
dling into enthusiastic ardor, when foreign or domestic insult 
threatened his country's honor, or its independence, filled his 
ranks, — thousands flew to his standard. 

When busy faction, the accursed scourge of almost every 
land, loudly assunjing the name of public zeal, dared to raise 
her head against the government and laws, and would have 
spread her desolating rage — .he had but to give a stretch to his 
arm, and with his thunder to speak the terror of disobedience 
and opposition to the constituted authorities, — when the hydra, 
but late so vociferous and confident, murmured and shrunk at 
his awful approach — and, at his presence, in aa agony of dis- 
appointment, expired. Mingling mercy with justice, the de- 
luded, he spared—the leaders were punished, pardoned or se- 



n» WASHINGTONIANA. 

cured, as humanity suggested — as a wise policy di£lated, or ren- 
tiered expedient. 

Emperors and rnonarchs are great in their own dominion? 
only — strip them nf their robes of royalty — their diadem — their 
sceptre — the pageantry and pomp of power, and thousands of 
iheir subjedls are their superiors. Not so the pre-eminent chief 
whose loss we now deplore : " None hut himself was his paral- 
lel" — Trace his illustrious actions from the etnbattled plain, 
vrhere he was so gloriously distinguished, to the presidential 
chair of the nation, whose affe£tions he so amply commanded, 
and they were uniform as they were great. We find him in 
a-H, the first and bravest of soldiers— the ablest and greatest of 
statesmen — the wisest and best of citizens. Elevated without 
pride — great without ambition—- superior without ostentation — . 
like the finest vernal day, he was praised by all, and by all ««-» 
envied. Conqueror of himself, and always prepared for the in-. 
visible event, no difficulties deterred^ — no dangers alarmed him. 
Brave without temerity, he knew when to check the ardor of 
conquest— the fire of enthusiasm. Deliberate without passion, 
he could coolly see, and avail himself of the great. — the im- 
portant moment when fortune herself, yielding to his matchless 
caution, acknowledged his superiority. Pious and exemplary, 
■no fastidious parade, no rigid distance marked his charafter. 
The high standard by which his exalted worth was measured, 
was known to all but himself. He ascribed to heaven, what 
conquerors generally arrogate to themselves — vidcry. 

'f Wisdom his guide, and providence his trust" he felt not 
the ordinary motives that have aftuated most heroes of antient 
and modern times. He fought, not for triumph, but for his 
country. He gave not the rich emolument of his toils and long 
career of military life, in securing her independence, for the 
poor applause of vulgar fame- — he magnanimously gave them — , 
and those emoluments were dearly earned. As midnight vigils 
Icept — daily and hourly fatigue — thought profound and silent — 
contributions made to his country ' in its hour of utmost need' — 
as first in every danger — last to seek his safety, and all his gal- 
lant exploits, can well attest. 



VVASHINGTONIANA. 15^ 

What must have been the anguish, the trying conflict of i. 
mind like his, at the awful crisis, -when the fate of the nation 
was suspended, as it were, by a single thread — at the crisis 
■which was to decide the independence of his country, or to have 
■rivetted her chains, perhaps, for ever I What must have beea 
his feelings, after the just renown he had gained, when he had 
conquered, and a part of his army forgetting discipline, in- 
flamed and irritated, would have destroyed or sullied the inde- 
pendence, he and his brave comrades had atchieved ? What must 
he have felt when he laid down his command, and bade his fel- 
low-soldiers, his victorious troops, a long, a last adieu ? — And, 
above all, how great— how more than great, and heroic beyond 
example, must he have been, when, but a year before his exist- 
ence was to close, he again exchanged the plough-share for the 
sword, and forgetting age, ease and repose, and the tranquil- 
lity so justly due to the evening of a life that had been passed 
as his was, in the deep scenes of the cabinet and the dangerous 
hazards of the field, when clouds of dark, portentous import, 
menaced his country — voluntarily to accept the first military 
command, and once more, should the councils of his nation so 
will it, to encounter all the perils, turmoils and vicissitudes of 
doubtful war 1 

Scarcely a river that rolls through our immense territory, 
but boasts some great exploit of our hero. The wild, rich 
streams of the Monongahcla first watered the laurel, that adorned 
the youthful warrior's brow. When the savage yell, dread he- 
rald of death, struck with panic all but himself! — his general 
slain — his legions routed — this beardless champion — cool and 
colledled, to safety led, through slaughtered heaps, the scanty 
relidls of a brave, but devoted army. 

The rocky clifts of the Brandywine, where retreat was more 
glorious than viilory, thickened those laurels. Then ponder- 
ing on the sure destru(Slion of his presuming foe — scarce a 
month had elapsed before his conquerors trembled and retired, 
subdued before his superior genius. When he advanced, it was 
with the cool resolution of the first Caesar — when he retreated, 
it was with the wise policy of a Fabius. 



160 WASHINGTONIANA. 

The lofty, full flo\ving Delaware, when icy torrents menaced 
death to all that approached, he with his little cohort braving 
every danger, sharing in every toil and fatigue, and at that 
great crisis, when all was at stake — when a disappointed, worn- 
out army complained — when desertion thinned every rank — Yes I 
the Delaware can tell how then he defied her dangers — how he 
passed her rapid catarads — how he boldly led his handful of 
troops to conquest and to fame. 

The Raritan, that arrested the flying enemy and checked 
his retreat, swells with pride when she relates how a gallant ve- 
teran aimy retired before him. This, Columbia, was thy proud- 
est moment — then revived a drooping nation's spirit — then her 
pulscj new strung, beat afresh to patriotism and independence. 

But shall the iron-bound Hudson be silent •' She who beheld 
an infant army, like Hercules in his cradle, attacking every foe, 
and defeated by none. United mercenaries and the gallant Bri- 
tish, all opposing — yet still invincible. Yes, on her hardy mar- 
gin, in letters never to be erased, is a Washington's glory, and 
his nation's courage for ever recorded. 

The majestic Chesapeake sealed and immortalized his valor, 
his martial fame. The flower of Britain's army commanded by 
her bravest general — the mighty conqueror of the east, there 
laid at Washington's feet, the brilliant trophies, for ages heaped 
together. Then independence stood ereft, and taking her might}' 
champion by the hand — " This," said she, is my hero — immor- 
tality I have given him. Engrave it, Americans, on your hearts — 
his valor has saved you — his wisdom and example, if you regard 
them, will forever secure you from foreign invasion — from do- 
mestic convulsion," 

Heke I should pause, and leave, to the concise eloquence of 
a Lee, the bold elocution of a Morris, the manly and nervous 
style of a Jackson, and superior abilities of many others of equal 
celebrity, his companions in war and in the cabinet, more par- 
ticularly to delineate his splendid aftions in the field — his vast 
decisions in council I these his cotcmporariesj can best describe 



WASHINGTONIANA. 161 

the great atchievements that marked his life. How, with a hand- 
ful of new, undisciplined soldiers, he performed prodigies of ge- 
nius and courage. When utmost dijKculties surrounded, hovr 
his great soul surmounted them. How undismayed he was by- 
superior numbers. How his valor encouraged, his example ani- 
mated, and his wisdom fortified his little army against an assail- 
ing, powerful foe. How, in a conflict, when civil war menaced 
his country, — when brother unsheathed the sword against bro- 
ther, — when opinion almost equally vibrated, — how he united, 
conciliated and conquered. 

Merit so appropriate — virtues so uncommon and rare are 
the rich inheritance, that this great man bequeathed to his coun- 
try — let us cherish it — let us consider and prize it as the first, 
the most inestimable, of public blessings. 

While patriotism, in pensive sorrow, mourns her loss, she 
impresses on her sons, this consolatory lesson, that millions yet 
unborn, will retrace the annals of this her greatest champion— 
and read in his history a nation's glory — a nation's happiest re- 
fuge, — the rich depository of virtues formed in so peculiar a man- 
ner, as to give, to genuine liberty, her only chance of gaining 
and preserving her greatest conquest — of enthroning her in a 
grateful people's hearts — of placing heron the everlasting basis 

of an equal, a representative and an energetic government, a 

government from which oppression flies — one to which misery 
and persecution resort, as to their last and safest asylum, and 
where religion, morality and law, are the only diredlories to 
public virtue and to private happiness. 

Ekect and sublime, fate itself could not subdue him. In 
hiin. the pangs of dissolution were lost. At the awful moment 
of death, when human nature bursting her fondest — dearest 
bonds— and heaving with convulsive agonies, instin(Slively shrinks 
and is appalled — we behold this god-like man, unmoved — 
calm as in the hour of tranquil health. Though solicited to 
live by all that could render life most desirable, — the al- 
lurements of friendship and opulence — every domestic ele- 
gance and comfort — his country'5'gratitude and love — a govern- 

X 



164 WASHINGTONIANA. 

ington, after making a brave defence, to the necessity of sub- 
mitting to honorable terms of capitulation. 

The contest about these lands, becoming more serious, ge- 
neral Braddock was sent with a regular force from Great-Bri- 
tain, to support the claims of his Britannic majesty. His im- 
petuous valor pushed him forward into an ambuscade of French 
and Indians, in which he was killed, and his army routed. The 
remains of it were rallied, and brought off in safety, under the 
diredlion and by the address of colonel Washington. 

The next expedition was more successful, and restored tran- 
quillity to the province of Virginia. When this event took 
place, the young citizen soldier, being no longer called to the 
discharge of military duty, resumed his habits of civil life, and 
continued therein until a nev.' and unexpected scene, about twenty- 
years after, brought him forward on a much more conspicuous 
theatre. 

In the year 1774, the British ministry completed their sy- 
stem for taxing their colonies. America was roused ; and, by 
a simultane.ous impulse, formed a congress of her most enlight- 
ened sons, to devise such measures as bid fairest to preserve her 
endangered libtrtles. To this illustrious assembly Washington 
was deputed, and he contributed his full proportion in forming 
the wise plans which were by them adopted. Great-Britain 
turned a^deaf ear to their petitions, and proceeded to coerce the 
colonies by a military force. Massachusetts being immediately 
attacked, had, in the first instance, embodied an army for its 
defence ; but as soon as it was determined to make a common 
cause Avlth that much-injured province, it became necessary that 
her local army should be made the army of the united colonies, 
and be officered by congress. 

New ExGi.AND had her Pomeroy, her Ward, and her Put- 
nam, aiid many others who hid seen as mucli, or perhaps more 
service than Washington, yet their wise delegates concurred in 
elevating the Virginian over their own favorite sons. The ap- 
pointment of a cprrimander in chief of all the armies raised, or 



WASHINGTONIANA. 165 

to lie raised, was efTeiEled by an unanimous vote and without 
competition. Not only congress, but the inhabitants in every 
part of the united colonies, seemed, by one consent, to point to 
Washington, as the chosen instrument of heaven, to guide them 
through the storms of war, to the haven of peace and safety. 
His native modesty begat distrusts in his own breast, from which 
others were free. 

In his acceptance of the office, he desired, " that it might be 
remembered by every gentleman present, that. he declared, with 
the utmost sincerity, he did not think himself equal to the 
command with which he was honored." 

On the third of July, 1775, he arrived at Cambridge, and 
entered upon the duties of his high station. Great were the dif- 
ficulties which pressed on ihe new commander in chief. To in- 
troduce discipline and subordination among the free husband- 
men, who had lately assumed the military charadler, and who 
were accustomed to adl from the impulse of their ov/n minds, 
■was an arduous labor. To procure effeftive service from men 
who carry with them the spirit of freedom into the field, re- 
quires virtues which are rarely found in military characlers. 
The greater part of the Americans, officers as well as soldiers, 
liad never seen any service, were ignorant of their duty, and 
but feebly impressed with the ideas of union, subordination and 
discipline. To form an army of such materials, fit to take the 
field against British veteran troops, was the tssk assigned to ge- 
neral Washington. In effe£ling this he conduced with so much 
prudence, as to make it doubtful whether we ought most to ad- 
iTjire the patient, accommodating spirit of the man, or the con- 
summate address of the general. 

The American troops were only engaged for a few montlis ser- 
vice, and were in a great measure destitute of ammunition. On 
the 4th of August, 1775, and for fourteen days after, the whole 
stock of powder in the American camp, and in the public maga- 
zines of New-England, v/as not sufficient to make ten rounds 
a man. Under all these disadvantages, the commander in chief 
adopted such efficient arrangements, as proteded the country, 



164 WASHINGTONIANA. 

ington, after making a brave defence, to the necessity of sub- 
mitting to honorable terms of capitulation. 

The contest about these lands, becoming more serious, ge- 
neral Braddock was sent with a regular force from Great-Bri- 
tain, to support the claims of his Britannic majesty. His im- 
petuous valor pushed him forward into an ambuscade of French 
and Indians, in which he was killed, and his army routed. The 
reniai-ns of it were rallied, and brought ofF in safety, under the 
direftion and by the address of colonel Washington. 

The next expedition was more successful, and restored tran- 
quillity to the province of Virginia. When this event took 
place, the young citizen soldier, being no longer called to the 
discharge of military duty, resumed his habits of civil life, and 
continued therein until a new and unexpected scene, about twenty 
years after, brought him forward on a much more conspicuous, 
theatre. 

In the year 1774, the British ministry completed their sy- 
stem for taxing their colonies. America was roused ; and, by 
a simultane,ous impulse, formed a Congress of her most enlight- 
ened sons, to devise such measures as bid fairest to preserve her 
endangered liberties. To this illustrious assembly Washington 
was deputed, and he contributed his full proportion in forming 
the wise plans which were by them adopted. Great-Britain 
turned a^deaf ear to their petitions, and proceeded to coerce the 
colonies by a military force. Massachusetts being immediately 
attacked, had, in the first instance, embodied an army for its 
defence ; but as soon as it was determined to make a common 
cause with that much-injured province, it became necessary that 
her local army should be made the army of the united colonies, 
and be officered by congress. 

New Eng/.and had her Pomeroy, her Ward, and her Put- 
nam, aiid many others %^ho h-.id seen as much, or perhaps more 
service than Washingvon, yet their wise delegates concurred in 
elevating the Virginian over their own favorite sons. The ap- 
pointment of a commander in chief of all the armies raised, or 



WASHINGTON! AN A. 165 

to lie raised, was efTefted by an unanimous vote and ■without 
competition. Not only congress, but the inhabitants in every 
part of the united colonies, seemed, by one consent, to point to 
Washington, as the chosen instrument of heaven, to guide them 
through the storms of war, to the haven of peace and safety. 
His native modesty begat distrusts in his own breast, from which 
others were free. 

In his acceptance of the office, he desired, " that it might be 
remembered by every gentleman present, that. he declared, with 
the utmost sincerity, he did not think himself equal to the 
command with which he was honored." 

On the third of July, 1775, he arrived at Cambridge, and 
entered upon the duties of his high station. Great were the dif- 
ficulties Avhicli pressed on ihe new commander in chief. To in- 
troduce discipline and subordination among the free husband- 
men, who had lately assumed the military rharaAer, and who 
were accustomed to a£l from the impulse of their ov/n minds, 
was an arduous labor. To procure effe^live service from men 
who carry Avith them the spirit of freedom into the field, re- 
quires virtues which are rarely found in military characlers. 
The greater part of the Americans, officers as well as soldiers, 
had never seen any service, were ignorant of their duty, and 
but feebly impressed with the ideas of union, subordination and 
discipline. To form an army of such materials, fit to take the 
field against British veteran troops, was the tssk assigned to ge- 
neral Washington. In effisdling this he conduced with so much 
prudence, as to make it doubtful whether we ought most to ad- 
mire the patient, accommodating spirit of the man, or the con- 
summate address of the general. 

The American troops were only engaged for a few months ser- 
vice, and were in a great measure destitute of ammunition. On 
the 4th of August, 1775, and for fourteen days after, the whole 
stock of powder in the American camp, and in the public maga- 
zines of New-England, was not sufficient to make ten rounds 
a man. Under all these disadvantages, the commander in chief 
adopted such efficient arrangements, as proteftcd the country, 



1,66 Washingtontana. 

confined the British army to Boston, and finally obliged them ta 
evacuate that city on the 17th of March, 1776. His conduiSl 
"was so 'pleasing to congress, that they ordered a medal to be 
struck, -with suitable devices, to perpetuate the remembrance of 
the great event ; and so much to the satisfaftion of the people 
of Massachusetts, that he was presented with a most flattering 
address from their council and house of representatives. 

Hitherto general Washington had embarked in the war 
with the fond idea of a reconcilement with the parent state. 
Independence Avas an after-thought, forced on the colonies by 
the refusal of Great-Britain to redress their grievances. Though 
he was not among the first to embrace the scheme of indepen- 
dence, yet as soon as he perceived the necessity of the measure, 
he heartily came into it. Far from wishing such a turn of af- 
fairs, as must necessarily lead to his personal aggrandizement, 
as long as one ray of hope remained, he ardently panted for 
such a return of moderation and wisdom to the rulers of Great- 
Britain, as would have united the two countries in their antlent 
habits of union and friendship. 

Soon after the evacuation of Boston, general Washington, 
with the army under his command, took their position In New- 
York. Great were the difficulties he had to encounter at Bos- 
ton, but much greater pressed upon him In New-York. In the 
former situation, he commanded a force far superior In number 
to the enemy ; In the latter, his whole army was short of 18,000 
men ; and of these a great proportion was militia. To these 
were opposed upwards of 30,000 British veterans, supported by 
a powerful navy. In this situation, after much thought, ge- 
neral Washington resolved on a war of posts. He stood his 
grouTid, as long as It could be done, without risking too much, 
and then prevented the last extremity, by evacuating and re- 
treating. He rightly judged that to him delay was vidory ; 
and not to be conquered was to conquer. By this policy he 
wore away the campaign of 1776. Though the British counted 
on the complete conquest of the colonies In that year, It was 
the middle of September before they got footing in the city of 



WASHINGTONIANA. 167 

New- York, and beyond the middle of November before they 
obtained full possession of New-York island. 

The evacuating and retreating system, adopted by general 
Washington, subjedcd him to the clamors of short-sighted po- 
liticians, who questioned his decision and spirit. He had it al- 
ways in his power to have vindicated himself, by stating the in- 
feriority of his numbers, and the total unfitness of his raw 
troops to contend with the veteran force opposed to them ; but 
•with true magnanimity he bore those reproaches, and concealed 
his real situation. 

In the latter end of November, the British commanders, in- 
stead of retiring into winter quarters, after driving the Ame- 
ricans from the state of New-York, pursued them into New- 
Jersey, with the fair prospeft of annihilating their whole force. 
The moment was critical. Dangers and difficulties pressed on 
all sides. On the sixteenth of November, 2,700 of the Ame- 
rican army were taken prisoners in Fort Washington. In four- 
teen days after that event, the flying camp, amounting to 10,000 
men, having served out iheir time, claimed their discharge. 
Other whole regiments, on similar grounds, did the same. The 
few that remained with general Washington scarcely exceeded 
3,000, and they were in a most forlorn condition, without tents, 
or blankets, or any utensils to dress their provisions. Under 
all these disadvantages, they were obliged to consult their safety, 
by retreating tow ^s Philadelphia, from avidlorious army, pres- 
sing close on thei. rear. As they marched through the country, 
scarcely one of the inhabitants joined them, while numbers 
■were daily flocking to the royal army for protection. Not 
©nly the common people changed sides in this gloomy state of 
affairs ; but several of the leading men in New-Jersey and Penn- 
sylvania, adopted the same expedient. — Congress fled from Phi- 
ladelphia to Baltimore. The hearts of many brave Americans 
began to fail, and to give up all hope of maintaining their in- 
dependence. 

In this period, when the American army was rclinquiihing 
their general — the people giving up the cause — som^ of their 



165 WASIIINGTONIANA. 

leaders going over to the enemy, and the British commanders 
succeeding in every enterprize, general Washington did not des- 
pair. He slowly retreated before the advancing foe, and deter- 
mined to i'all back to Pennsylvania — to Augusta county in Vir- 
ginia — and, if necessary, to the westward of yonder mountains, 
■where he was resolved, in the last extremity, to renew the strug- 
gle for the independence of his country. While his uncon- 
qiiered mind was brooding on these ideas, 1,500 of the Pennsyl- 
vania militia joined him. With this small increase of force he 
formed the bold resolution of recrossing the Delaware, and at- 
tacking that part of the enemy which v/as pootcd in Trenton. 
Heaven smiled on the enterprize. On the 26th of December, 
900 Hessians were killed, wounded, or taken prisoners. This 
bold enterprize was, in eight days after, follbwed by another, 
which was planned with great address. General Washington 
■with his army stole away under cover of the night, from 
the vicinity of a force far superior to his own, and attacked in 
their rear a detachment of the British posted in Princeton : 300 
were taken prisoners, and about 100 killed and wounded. These 
two vidlories revived the drooping spirits of the Americans, and 
seemed under Providence to have been the means of their politi- 
cal salvation. They made the British so cautious of extending 
their posts, that general Washington, with an army of 1,500 
men, for several months, kept nearly 15,000 of the enemy 
closely pent up in Brunswick. 

The same wise policy of avoiding decisive engagements was 
pursued by our hero through the campaign of 1777, with so 
much effect, that it was as late as the 26th of September before 
Sir William Howe possessed himself of Philadelphia. 

In the various marches and counter-marches which took place 
between the two armies, in the course of this campaign, repeated 
proofs were given, that though general Washington was forward 
to engage, when he thought it to his advantage, yet it was im- 
possible for the royal commander to bring him to adion against 
his consent. 

I ci.AtT.r your indulgence for recapitulating* so much of the 
history of our late revohuion, which is already known to you 



WASHINGTONIANA. 169 

all. Is it no digression ? It is all to my purpose. When gene* 
ral Washington is the subjeft, history and eulogy are the same— 
the speaker praises him best, who gives the most faithful narra- 
tive of his actions. 

If time permitted, I would run over every campaign, and 
point out to you, in each, the m.any instances in which our hero 
displayed the talents of an accomplished general, as well as the 
mild virtues of the father of his country. I would particular- 
ize how eager he was to attack when it could be done to advan- 
tage; and with how much dexterity he avoided engagements, 
•when his situation was unfavorable. With what address he kept 
together a half naked — half starved — and unpaid army, parti- 
cularly in the last year of the war, when gold and silver were 
banished from circulation, and the continental currency had de- 
preciated almost to nothing. — I would unfold how the magic of 
his name produced union and concert among the jarring states, 
and their discordant troops, — I would — but time fails me even 
to enumerate the topics, from which, by the simple relation of 
fa£ls, I could heighten your admiration of this extraordinary 
man. — I shall, therefore, conclude my observations on his mili- 
tary career, by observing, that in consequence of a most judi- 
cious plan, in concerting, and executing which, general Wash- 
ington had a principal share, lord Cornwallis, with 7,000 men, 
was, in Ov3;ober, 1781, compelled to surrender to the combined 
forces of France and the United States. This was the closing 
scene of the revolutionary war. At Trenton the first, and at 
York- town the last decisive blow was given to the British forces 
in thtf United States, and both were conduced under the imme- 
diate command of general Washington. 

Though the capture of lord Cornwallis, in a great measure, 
terminated the war, yet great and important services were ren- 
dered to the United States, by our general, after that event. 
The army which had fought the battles of independence was 
about to be disbanded without being paid. At this period, when 
the minds of both officers and men were in a highly irritable 
state, attempts were made by plausible but seditious publica- 
tions, to induce them to unite in redressing their grievances, 

Y 



iro ' V/ASHINGTONIANA. 

while they had arms in their hands. The whole of general Wash- 
ington's influence was exerted, and nothing less than his un- 
bounded influence would have been availing to prevent the adop- 
tion of nieahuresj that threatened to involve the country in an 
intestine war, between the army on the one side, and the citi- 
zens on the other. If Washington had been a Julius Cxsar, 
or an Oliver Cromwell, all we probably would have gained by 
the revolution would have been a change of our allegiance — 
from being the subjefts of George the third of Great-Britain, 
to become the subjects of George the lirit of America. 

The war being ended— the peace, liberties, and independence 
of these states being acknowledged and secured, our beloved 
general presents himself before congress, and returns into their 
hands his commission as commander in chief of their armies. 
The scene was grand and majestic. After having successfully 
served his country for eight years, and conducted its armies 
through a revolutionary war, which terminated in the establish- 
ment of the liberties and independence of these states — when 
he is about to retire to private life, does he demand honors or 
emoluments for himself, family, or friends ? No such thing. 
In modest language, he recommended to the favorable notice,- 
and patronage of congress, the confidential officers who were 
attached to his person. For them he indiredly asVs favors, but 
nothing for himself. The only privilege conferred by congress 
on the retiring Washington, which distinguished him from any 
other private citizen, was, a right of sending and receiving let- 
ters free of postage. Think not, I mean to charge my country 
"with ingratitude. Nothing would have been refused to him 
which he wished to have ; but, to use his own language on ano- 
ther occasion, " he shut his hand against all pecuniary compen- 
sation." 

Do you ask me how this illustrious general, after being used 
for eight years to camps, bore the languid indifFerence of pri- 
vate life ? Do you enquire whether he went to Europe in a pub- 
lic or private charadler ? Had he been a vain man, fond of ap- 
plause, or of glittering in the public eye, he would doubdess 
have put himself in the way of receiving those flattering atten- 



WASHINGTONIANA. 171 

tions, whici} are so eagerly coveted by the vulgar great. Very 
different was the line of conduft he pursued. After resigning 
his commission, he hastened with ineffable delight to his long- 
negleded farm at Mount-Vcrnon — sheathed his sv/ord — laid 
aside his uniform, and assumed the dress and habits of a coun- 
try gentleman. Witj\ the same assiduity he had lately visited 
camps and forts, he began once more to visit his fields and 
his mills. In a short time, the first general of the ■world be- 
came the best farmer in Virginia. 

Do you enquire on what subjects this great man, after retir- 
ing from an exalted public station, used to converse ? Was it 
his praftice to *• fight his battles o'er again," and entertain his 
company with a recital of the great scenes In which he had been 
a principal aftor ? Ask the many gentlemen who partook of his 
hospitality, and they will one and all tell you, tliat he rarely 
spoke of the war, and stiU more rarely of himself, unless his 
guests forced conversation upon these subjefls. His favorite 
topics were agricultural ; on these he dwelled with peculiar plea- 
sure, and rejoiced in every opportunity of giving and receiving 
information on the first and best employment of man. In this 
beloved retreat, from the cares and business of public life, he 
wished to spend the remainder of liis days ; but, after having 
enjoyed himself on his farm for four years, his country again 
called for his services. 

From the inefficacy of the articles of confederation, and from 
several other concurring causes, a tide of evils flowed in upon 
the United States, in the years that Immediately followed the 
return of peace. A convention of the different states was cal- 
led, to digest a form of government, equal to the exigencies of 
the union. To this illustrious assembly general Washington 
was deputed, and of it he was unanimously elefted president. 
His wisdom had a great share in forming, and the influence of 
his name a still greater in procuring the acceptance of the con- 
stitution, which the convention recommended to the people for 
their adoption. By this, one legislative, executive and judicial 
power was made to pervade all the states, and the executive in 



172 WASHINGTONIANA. 

particular was committed to an officer, by the name of presi- 
dent. Though great diversity of opinions had prevailed about 
the merits of the new constitution, there was but one opinion 
about the person who should be appointed its supreme executive 
officer. Three millions of people, by their representatives, una- 
nimously gave their suffrages in favor of George Washington. 
Unambitious of further honors, he wished to be excused from 
all public service ; but that ardent patriotism, by Avhlch he had 
always been governed, prevailed over his love of retirement, 
and induced him once more to engage in the great work of mak- 
ing a nation happy. The popularity of his name, and the confi- 
dence which the people of all the stases reposed in his tried in<. 
tegrity, enabled him to give an energy to the new constitution, 
which it would not have had under the administration of any 
other person. 

I NEED not remind you of the great improvements which 
have taken place in the wealth, resources and commerce of the 
United States since Washington has been president. \ou know 
them — you feel them — and the daily increasing prosperity of 
our country attests them. 

In the midst of this prosperity, a storm arose in a far distant 
land, which threatened to involve these states in its wide spread- 
ing devastation ; but our political pilot once more saved us 
from impending danger. When the war broke out between 
France and England, an artful minister'was sent from the for- 
mer, with the avowed design of involving us in the contest. 
The kindred name of a republic — unbounded love and gratitude 
to France, for beneficial aid, afforded us in our struggle for in- 
dependence — rankling hatred of Great-Britain, for the many in- 
juries she had done us in the same period, all concurred to make 
a strong party among us, favorable to the views of the French 
•minister. This was increased by impolitic and illegal captures 
of our floating property, by the vessels of his Britannic majesty, 
WVien we were apparently on the point of being drawn into the 
vortex of the war, president Washington, by virtue of his con- 
stitutional powers, prevented it. He nominated an envoy ex- 
traordinary to negociate with the coyrt of London, This, m^e 



WASHINGTONIANA. ir« 

the veto of a Roman tribune, put a stop to all further proceed- 
ings ; for the legislature could not proceed to hostile measures 
while the executive was negociating. The man who, in his mi- 
litary capacity, had saved us from Great-Britain, now, in his ci- 
vil charafter, saved us from ourselves. Thejeople, though di- 
vided in parties, were so fully convinced of the reclitude and 
purity of the condu£l of "Washington, that on a second elec- 
tion they elevated him to the same exalted station, with an una- 
nimous voice. If my time, or your patience, permitted, I would 
go over the civil administration of our late president, and point 
©ut to you his judicious arrangements for makiii^ 135 happy at 
home, and respedable abroad — for protecting our commerce — 
for encouraging our agriculture — forgiving vigor to our inter- 
nal police, by calling into ofRce upright and able men, in every 
department. I would dilate, with particular pleasure, on his 
unwearied endeavors to preserve the country in peace. While 
some of our citizens were for France, and others for England— • 
Washington was for the United States, and with great address 
preserved us on both sides from the horrors of war. On these 
subjedls I cannot dwell, and therefore hasten to observe, that 
after having served his country with great ability, and fidelity, 
for eight years, in the office of president, he once more retired 
to private life, covered with honors, and followed by the love 
and gratitude of all the people. Previous to this event he gave 
his last parting advice to the citizens of the United States, in 
the form of a valedi<S^ory address. This is in all your hands.. 
Teach it to your children, in the house, and by the way, lying 
down and rising up, going out and coming in. It Is an invalu- 
able legacy — perhaps there never was so much important in- 
struollon — so much good advice given by any mere man in the 
compass of so few words, as was done by Washington on this, 
and a similar occasion, when he retired from military command. 

Our departed friend had not enjoyed his beloved retirement 
two years, when his country again called for his services. The 
rulers of France, having entirely departed from the princlpleg 
on which they set out, plundered our commerce, insulted our 
ministers of peace ; and some of their agents went so far as to 
threaten us with invasion. This imposed a necessity to organ* 



174 WASHINGTOKIANA. 

h:c an army, and prepare for the last extremity. All the world 
Rnew, and Washington, though the most modest of men, could 
ITot but know, that his name, at the head of our army, v.-ould 
cither deter any European power from invading us ; or if they 
<liouId madly make the attempt, would unite all our citizens as 
a band of brothers for the common defence. He tliere-fore ac- 
cepted the appointment, and though on the verge of three-score 
years and ten, stood ready and pledged to take the £ekl, whene- 
ver the necessities of the country required it. In this attitude, 
and with a fixed resolution to serve his country in the last ebb 
of his life, and with the last drop of his blood, our father has 
been suddenly snatched from us. To lose such a man, at such 
a crisis, is no common calamit)''. Well may you mourn on such 
;in occasion. Well may you shroud yourselves and your churches 
in black. Well may the citizens of these states, from Nev/- 
Hampshire to Georgia, mingle their tears in one great flood of 
grief. It was wise and proper to set apart a day free from bu- 
siness and care, to give undisturbed vent to j^our sorrows. Who 
now will wield the sword of our country against our enemies ? 
!Mnny brave and good officers we yet have : but none, like Wash- 
ington, can by their very names strike terror into the breasts 
of an invading enemy. None, like Washington, can unite all 
hearts and hands in the common defence. 

Having flnislied an historical review of the life of our de- 
parted friend, bear with me a few minutes while I attempt to 
draw his character. For the sake of those who have never seen 
general Washington, it may be worth while to observe, that his 

pcrscft was graceful, well proportioned, and uncommonly tall 

When he was cheerful, he had a most engaging countenance — 
v'hen p-rave, a most respeftablc one. There Avas at all times 
an air of maj-sty and dignity in his appearance. 

Kis learning was of a singular kind ; he overstepped the te- 
dious forms of tlic schools, and by the force of a rorreft taste 
and-sound iudgment, seized on the great ends of learning, with- 
out the assistance of those means which have been contrived to 
■prepare less adivc m/inds for public business. By a careful study 
ef the English langoage, by reading good models of fine writing } 



WASHINGTONIANA. 175. 

>iiid, above all, by the aid of a vigorous mhul, lie made himself 
master of a pure, elegant, and classical style. His composition 
■was all nerve ; fall of corred and manly ideas, which were ex- 
pressed in precise and forcible language. His answers to the 
the innumerable addresses, which on all public occasions poured 
in upon him, were promptly made, handsomely expressed, and 
always contained something appropriate. — His letters to con- 
gress his addresses to that body on the acceptance and resig- 
nation of his commission — his g-«neral orders as commander in 
chief — his speeches and messages, as presidiMU — and, above all, 
his two farewell addresses to the people of the United States, 
will remain lasting monuments of the goodness of his heart— 
of the wisdom of his head— and of the eloquence of his pen. 

The powers of his mind ^7ere in seme respciEls peculiar. Ha 
was a great praflical, self-taught genius — with a h.ead to devise, 
and a hand to execute projefts of the first magnitude and great- 
est utility. Happily for his country he v/as not under the do- 
minion of a warm imagination ; but he possessed, in an eminent 
degree, what was of infinitely more conscqucncci — a corret\, so- 
lid judgment. This was improved by close thinking, and 
strengthened by daily exercise. Possessing a large proportion 
of common sense, uninfluenced by prejudice, passion, or party 
spirit — deliberately weighing in the balance of a sound judg- 
ment, the possible and probable consequences of every step he 
took, and being always under the influence of an honest, good 
heart, he was imperceptibly led to decisions that were wi;e and 
judicious. It is not pretended that he was infallible ; but it 
may, with truth, be asserted, that in the multiplicity of busi- 
ness, on which he had to decide, his errors were as fev/ in nupj- 
ber, as venial in their nature, and as unimportant in their con- 
sequences, as could reasonably be expcd.ed in t^e prsseut imper- 
feft state of the wisest and best of men. 

Enemies he had, but they were few, and chiefly of the sapie 
family with the man, who could not bear to hear Aristides always 
called the just.' Among them all, I have never heard of one 
who charged him with any habitual vice, or even foible. There 
are few men of any kind, and still fewer of those t^he world 



176 WASHINGTONIANA. 

calls great, wlio have not some cf their virtues ecKpsed by cof* 
responding vices. — But this was not the case with general Wash-* 
ington — he had religion withouc austerity — dignity without 
pride — modesty without diffidence — courage without rashness — » 
politeness without affs£tation — affability without familiarity. 
His private charafter, as well as his public one, will bear the 
striftest scrutiny. Ke was punctual in all his engagements — 
tipright r>nd honest in his dealings — temperate in his enjoy- 
ments — liberal and hospitable to an eminent degree — a lover of 
order — systematical and methodical in all his arrangements. 
He was the friend of morality and religion — steadily attended 
en public worship — encouraged and strengthened the hands of 
the clergy. In all his public afts he made the most respeclful 
mention of Providence ; and, in a word, carried the sp'yit of 
piety wiih him, both in his private life and public administra- 
tion. He was far from being one of those minute philosophers, 
•who believe that '' death is an eternal sleep ;" or of those, 
Avho, trusting to the sufficiency of human reason, discard the 
light of divine revelation. 

To dwell on all the virtues of general Washington, would 
protradl my oration beyond the going down of the sun. I must 
therefore confine myself to a few. Among the many that pre- 
sent themselves, his patience and spirit of accommodation de- 
serve particular notice. — He had to form soldiers of freemen ; 
muny of whom had extravagant ideas of their personal rights.— 
He had often to mediate between a starving army, and a high 
spirited yeomanry. So great were the necessities of the sol- 
diers, under his immediate command, that he was obliged to 
send ont detachments to seize on the property of the farmers 
at the point of the bayonet. The language of the soldier was, 
" Give me clothing — ^give me food — or I cannot fight— -I cannot 
live." The language of the farmer was, " Protect my property." 
In this choice t?f difficulties, general Washington not only kept 
his army together, but conducted with so much prudence, as to 
command the approbation both of the army and of the citizens. 
He was also dependent for much of his support on the concur- 
rence of thirteen distinft, unconnefted legislatures. Animosi- 
ties prevailed between his southern and northern troops; and 



WASHINGTONIANA. 177 

there were strong jealousies between the states from which they 
grespe^lively came. To harmonize these clashing interests.^ — to 
make uniform arrangements from such discordant sources and 
materials, required no common share of address. Yet so great 
was the effeiSl of the modest, unassuming manners of general 
"Washington, that he retained the afFc(Slion of all his troops, 
and of all the states. 

Bravert is indispensible in a military man, though it stands 
lowest in the least of the virtues of a great officer. Our hero 
possessed a great share of it. In battle he was the bravest 
among the brave. When the service required it, he cheerfully 
risked his person. Of this I could enumerate many instances. 
I could particularly relate, that on New-York island, and at the 
battle at Princeton, he was so far in front of his troops, and 
exposed to so much danger, that the preservation of his life can 
only be accounted for by those who believe in a particular pro- 
vidence. Having so many more important matters before me, I 
cannot dwell on this subjeft. How rich in reputation must that 
general be, whose courage must be thrown in the back ground, 
to give place for the display of his more important virtues ? 

General Washington also possessed equanimity in an. 
eminent degree. One even tenor marked the greatness of his 
mind, in all the variety of scenes through which he passed. 
In the most trying situations he never despaired, nor was he ever 
depressed. Propositions, supported by plausible assignments, 
were made to him by honest, but despairing, timid Americans, to 
save himself and his country, by negociating at the head of his 
army ; but in the lowest ebb of affairs, he spurned at every such 
proposal. The honors and applause he received from his grate- 
ful countrymen, at more fortunate periods, would have made 
any other man giddy, but on him they had no mischievous ef- 
feft. He exafted none of those attentions : but when forced 
upon him he received them as favors, with the politeness of a 
well bred man. He was great in deserving them, but mucli 
greater in not being elated with them. 



ITS WASHINGTONIANA. 

The patriotism of our departed friend, was of the most ar- 
dent kind, and without alloy. He was very different from those 
nois)^ patriots, who with love of country in their mouths, and 
witli hell in theii' l>earts, lay their schemes for aggrandizing them- 
selves at every hazard; but he was one of those who love their 
country in sincerity, and who hold themselves bound to conse- 
crate all their talents to its service. Numerous were the diffi- 
culties with which he had to contend. Great were the dangers 
he had to encounter. Various were the toils and services in 
which he had to share ; but to all difficulties and dangers he 
rose superior — To all toils and services he cheerfully submitted 
for his country's good. 

Possessing an ample, unincumbered fortune — happy at home, 
,in the most pleasing domestic connexions, what but love of 
country could have induced him to accept the command of the 
American army in 1775 ? Could it be hatred of Great-Britain ? 
He then ardently loved her, and panted for a reconciliation with 
her. Could it be partiality for a military life ? He was then in 
the forty-fourth year of his age, when a fondness for camps ge- 
i.ersliy abates. Could it be love of fame ? The whole tenor of his 
life forbids us to believe that he ever was under the undue influ- 
ence of this passion. Fame followed him, but he never pursued it. 
Could it have been the love of power ? They who best knew the" 
undissembled wishes of his heart, v/ill all tell you with what re^ 
Itidance he was dragged from a private station, and with what 
ineffable delight he returned to it. Had he not voluntarily de- 
clined it, he would have died your president. Others have re- 
signed high stations from disgust, but he retired at rather an 
early period of old age, while his faculties were strong, and his 
health not much impaired, and when the great body of the peo- 
ple sincerely loved him, and ardently wished for his re-eleftion. 
Ccutd it have been the love of money that induced him to ac- 
cept the command of the American army ? No such thing — 
when he was appointed commander in chief, congress made him 
a handsome allowance ; but in his acceptance of the command, 
he di;clared "that as nor pecuniary consideration could have. 
tempted him to accept the arduous employment, at the expence 
of his domestic ease and hai^pinesE, he did not wi«h to make 



WASHINGTONIANA. 173 

any profit from it." " I will keep," said lie, " an exafl ac- 
count of my. expence? — .these I doubt not you will discharge, 
and that is all I desire." At the close of the war, he produced 
his accounts for th^ eight years it had lasted, all in his own hand- 
writing, and with the same exactness that was required of com- 
missaries and contradlors — the whole amounted to £. 14,479 
18s. 9d. 3-4, sterling. Of this sum, about one-seventh was 
for secret services. The amount paid, the time when, and the 
occasions on which monies were advanced for secret services, 
were all carefully noted, but for obvious reasons no receipts 
were produced. For every other item of the account the most 
regular vouchers were exhibited. The whole at the request of 
general Washington was minutely examined by the proper ac- 
counting officers, and regularly passed. A tin box, containing 
these accounts, remains in one of the offices of the United 
States. It is a monument of the disinterestedness of general 
Washington. Bring your children, and your children's children 
to examine its contents. Shew them the hand-writing of the 
father of their country — teach them thereon lessons of eco- 
nomy, of order and method in expences — teach them to love 
their country, and to serve It on liberal terms. 

I CALL upon antiquity — upon modern Europe, and especially 
on the recent republic of France, to produce one of their he- 
roes or statesmen, that can surpass, or even equal our disinte- 
rested patriot. 

Had I a voice that would reach across the Atlantic, I would 
address the nations at war, and propose to their emperors, their 
kings, their directors, tbeir generals, and their statesmen, the 
example of our Washington for their imitation ; and call upon 
them, if not too much abashed by the splendor of his virtues, 
to learn from him to put far away avarice and ambition — and 
like him to pursue nought but their country's good. If they 
would thus copy after the great example of our American hero," 
they would soon sheath their swords, and let the world have 
peace. 

But chiefly do I call on my fellow-citizens, to cherish the 
remembrance of the virtues of the dear deceased. To learn 



180 WASHINGTONIANA. 

from him to be all eye — all ear — all heart and hand in the ser- 
vice of your country — to think no sacrifice too great — no labor 
too hard, which public good requires at your hands. Rehearse 
to your children, and instrudl them to rehearse to theirs, the 
jioble deeds of your common father, and inspire them with a 
holy resolution to go and do likewise. His great example, thus 
improved, will be a germ of virtuous aftions through Wcceed- 
ing generations, 'till time shall be no more. 

But to return — the same reasoning will apply "with still 
greater force to general Washington's acceptance of the office 
of president of the United States. No motives, but those of 
the purest kind, could have induced him, loaded with honors, 
^and possessed of a reputation that had carried his name to the 
remotest corners of the globe, to quit his beloved retirement 
for the second time, and embark on the perilous sea of civil life. 

Where shall we find words sufficient to do justice to his 
self-denying acceptance of his recent appointment to the su- 
preme command of the army that .is now raising. View him 
in the possession of all that his heart could wish— in the sixty-, 
seventh year of his age, when repose and retirement must have 
been not only desirable but even necessary. — View him under 
all those circumstances, pledging himself to take the field when- 
ever the situation of his country required it. How ardent must 
have been his patriotism ! How great is the loss which we have 
gu'^tained. 

In losing him our people have lost their guide — our country 
has lost its father — its sword and shield — its greatest benefac- 
tor and ornament. Rome with all her heroes— Greece with all 
her patriots, could not produce his equal. Not one Avho trod 
the stage of life with equal dignity, and who departed from it 
in old age with a reputation so brilliant, and at the same time 
so spotless. 

His virtues and example are an invaluable legacy to his coun- 
try — to Europe — to the world. His councils are engraven on 
the table of our hearts — his deeds are written with a pen of iron 



WASHINGTONIANA. 181 

and with the point of a diamond. His fame is a sea without a 

shore His counsels — his deeds, and his fame will live forever. 

But, alas ! those eyes which have watched so many nights for 
the safety of the United States, are now closed in death— that 
tongue, and those hands, which have so often, so long, and so 
successfully been exerted for our benefit, are now mouldering 
in the dust. 

No more will he enlighten our councils by his wisdom^;— no 
more will he lead our armies to viftory — no longer will his name 
prove a bulwark of defence, by giving us one mind and one 
heart, and by striking terror into our enemies. For these things 
our hearts are faint — our eyes are dim and run down with wa- 
ter. 

This day is a day of trouble and distress — a day of darkness 

and gloominess — a day of clouds and thick darkness But I 

check myself — Washington's worth, and our sorrows, exceed 
all speech. — I am therefore silent, that we may muse on his me- 
yits and indulge our grief. 



Oration on the death of general George WASHiucToif ; deli- 
vered in the Dutch church in New-Brunswick^ New-Jersey, 
By major-general Frederick pRELiNGHursEif. 

My countrymen and friends, 

SOLEMN 1 awfully solemn is the occasion, which this day 
assembles us. We come not as ^heretofore, to commemo- 
rate the birth of a nation, or to celebrate the victories of our 
country : — we come not to proclaim the virtuous deeds of the 
living patriot, or the warlike atchievements of the existing hero : 
we come not to rejoice ; we come to mourn ! to mourn de- 
parted worth, and to pay a tribute of gratitude to unparallclled 
fnerit ; merit, once on earth, but now removed. 



18^ WASHINGTON J AN A. 

How gladly, my countrymen, would I resign the task as- 
signed me, into abler hands; but who is equal to such a task ? 
Who can justly recount the praises of the hero, the statesman, 
and the Christian, whose loss v/e lament ! — The faithful page of 
history will make the attempt, and it will fail. The orator and 
the poet will unite their efforts, and they will immortalize not. 
half his worth. In the hearts, in the grateful hearts of his be- 
loved countrymen, it is alone truly recorded: and who can ex- 
press the feelings of those hearts, when the sad tidings are an- 
nounced, that Washington is no b:oiie I 

It has been the custom of most nations to celebrate the ac- 
tions, and to resound the praises of their renowned heroes and 
statesmen. They begaii it, impelled by affeiftion and sorrow ; 
and they continued it from m.otives of duty and interest. But 
never, in any country, did all these so evidently unite, to call 
upon a people to deplore the loss, and to proclaim the virtues of 
an illustrious character, as on this mournful occasion. If ever 
affeftion and sorrow were sincere, such, Americans, must be 
your affe£\ion and your sorrow, for the departed father of 
your country. If ever duty prompted to a grateful remembrance 
^f past and signal services, or interest recommended for the ex- 
ample of survivors to perpetuate the memory of great and vir- 
tuous aftions, this sorrowful moment affords the most striking' 
instance. 

I WILL not, my countrymen, attempt a formal eulogy on this 
great and good man, beloved by his own country, and admired 
by all. For, besides, that his chara£ler is above all praise, 
should I attempt it, the abilities of my head (as a writer ex- 
presses it) would too little conspire with the feelings of my 
heart. It will be sufficient for our present purpose, in order to 
shew the greatness of our loss, to take a short and summary 
view of our heroe's life, so nobly, so patriotically spent for the 
public good. 

At a period, which others devote to mirth and dissipation, 
in his very youth, he was called by his native colony to perilous 
and interesting services : and such were the early talent* and 



WASHINGTONIANA. ISS" / 

heroism which he displayed, that all men foretold his future 
greatness if his life v/as prolonged ; and such were the extraor- 
dinary interpositions df Divine Providence in his favor on seve- 
ral occasions, that devout men Avere inspired to predict, that he 
■was preserved for the future glory and defence of his country. 
He continued to be honored by Virginia with important appoint- 
ments, civil and military. Ke continued to do much good; in 
war a hero, in peace a statesmau and a farmer. A statesman, 
studying the good of his country, and with his brother patriots, 
adopting measures to promote it. A farmer, cultivating his 
lands, cultivating his mind, and cultivating every social and do- 
mestic virtue. Heaven was preparing hini for more important 
scenes — and thy blood-stained soil, O Lexington ! opened the 
glorious drama. The contest between the colonies of America 
and their mother country had not drawn to a crisis ; and the hos- 
tile fleets and hostile armies of the ill-advised Britain, had com- 
pelled the former to assert their rights, and to repel force by 
force. But who shall lead the troops of freedom I By impulse 
more than human, the American people cast their eyes upon the 
Cincinnatus of Mount- Vernon, and he is eleded the commander 
in chief of their armies. 

His country calls. He hesitates not to resign the sweet de- 
lights of domestic life, but with a modest diffidence in his ta- 
lents, and an humble, but firm reliance on the god of armies, he 
at once obeys her call. To detail the various events of the 
bloody confiidl, all of which, whether prosperous or adverse, 
evinced the greatness of his soul and the warmth of his patri- 
otism, cannot now be exped'ted ; the historian will record them, 
and the present and future ages will read and wonder. With 
an undisciplined army, almost without arms or ammunition ; 
his country without military resources ; against an enemy, brave, 
determined, and enured to war ; and against a nation in the ze- 
nith of her power, he nobly took the field. Under his auspices, 
order sprang out cf disorder ; detachments of strangers v/ere 
formed into a band of brothers, aad the sons of freedom spread 
their embattled ranks around him, as the rock of our strength, 
and under God, our sure defence. 



t84 WASHINGTONIANA. 

During the eventful contest, his patriotic care extended to 
every part of the Union. Did danger assail the north, there 
was his Gates, and there his gallant Lincoln ; did .hostile bands 
invade the south, there was his fnithful Greene ; and near their 
chieftain's camp, there was the sword of the Lord and of Wash- 
ington. There he protcdled us by day, and watched over us by 
night ; there he cheerfully oflftred his precious life to the fate of 
\var — and there he caused the enemies of our freedom to feel 

" TJbe keen., rough searcbings, of a patriot's steel." 
Throughout the bloody conflift, his country's good was the pole- 
btar of all his conduit. The voice of praise could not betray 
him into rashness, nor could the malignant tongue of slander 
warp hiin from his duty. With the same steady mind he ad- 
vanced ; with the same steady mind he retired ; — with the same 
firm soul he fought the foe ; with the same firm soul he declined 
the combat. When vidory held out to him her bleeding hand, 
he clasped it with serenity, thanking his God. With calm com- 
posure he bore every adversity, resigned to the will of heaven. 
Possessing the full confidence of his country, the idol of his 
army, and of all the militia, he was never elated. The admi- 
ration of the age for military skill and heroic atchievements, he 
never boasted. Though by his arduous struggle in the cause of 
freedom, he had stamped an inestimable value upon a soldier's 
name, the name of patriot was his great delight. 

Various were the events of the important confllifl ; but hea- 
ven at length crowned his military labors with success. With 
all the joy which patriotism could inspire, he saw the indepen- 
dence of his country established, and her peace restored. The 
joy of ambition never entered his soul. Having received from 
the United States in congress assembled, the most pathetic ac- 
knowledgments for his long and faithful services ; having paid 
due honors to his comrades in war, and leaving his country a le- 
gacy too valuable to be forgotten, he nobly retired. The hero 
of America became the faumer of Mount-Vernon. Methinks 
I see the venerable patriot on his way ; every where met, every 
where followed, every where accompanied and surrounded by the 
afrcd\ionate wishes of a grateful people, Happy man ! glorious 
■retinue 1 Haughty despots, attend 1 bow before him^ and learn 



WASHINGTONIANA. 185 

how little you are. Ambition I for a moment stop thy pursuits, 
and if thou canst, learn what greatness Is. 

But the important work which he had begun, the political 
happiness of his country, was not yet completed. The confede- 
ration of the states, formed amidst the noise of war and the 
din of arms, proved unequal to the purposes for which it was de- 
signed. The band of union was incomplete, and the strength 
of the nation could not be called into exertion. Rebellion be- 
gan to rear its head. Private and public credit were nearly de- 
stroyed ; and America, though strong in men and iull of re- 
sources, presented to the world the piiSlure of a feeble and bank- 
rupt people. His country called again ; he again obeyed, and 
joined a band of worthies in forming a constitution for these 
United States, founded on the purest principles of political free- 
dom, and calculated to make his country great and happy. 

To carry into efFeft this constitution, then became the all- 
important work, on which depended the happiness or misery of 
OUT country. Difficulties arising from various causes, presented 
themselves to view. Discordant sentiments, ambitious designs, 
and the intrigues of the enemies of our independence, were all 
to be encountered. Washington lives I Washington lives ! is 
again resounded from north to south, from east to west ; and 
by th© unanimous voice of his grateful country, he is elected 
chief magistrate of this rising empire. 

Loaded with honors, and on the pinnacle of human glory ; 
surrounded with friends, and in full possession of all the bles- 
sings which affluence can bestow, and of every social and do- 
mestic enjoyment, he again resolves to engage in the toils, the 
dangers, and the anxieties of public life. Here let the histo- 
rian pause, and search for language to bestow due praise. It is 
the brightest plume in all his reputation. There was no still 
voice to whisper in his ear, hero, thou hast enough. 
There was no voice which dared to utter, hero, the risk is 
TOO GREAT ! The illustrious patriot could hear but one voice, 



Aa 



186 WASHINGTONIANA. 

the sacred voice of his beloved country ; to obey whicli, had been 
the delight of his youth, and the sublime pleasure of his life. 

Behold him advancing to the arduous taslc, and recolle6l the 
feelings which then agitated every American breast. Did not 
every bosom glow with gratitude and every heart expand with 
joy and confidence ? See him engaged in the solemnities of tak- 
ing upon himself the important office. The hero of America 
•was not there ; the patriot and the Christian alone appeared. 
The persevering patriot, again willing to devote his life, his for- 
tune and his reputation to the welfare of his country. The 
humble Christian looking up for aid to that Almighty Being, 
under the shadow of whose influence he had walked in safety, 
and by the strength of whose arm, he had atchieved. happiness 
for his country, and for himself immortal fame. 

For eight long years, all of them anxious, and some of them 
extremely portentous of evil, he presided over the important 
corrcerns of the Union. With unremitting care and attention ; 
■with unexampled wisdom and firmness, he discharged, the ardu- 
ous trust. His country's good was again his only guide, and 
its durable happiness his only wish. Superior to flattery, and 
unawed by calumny, he pursued his course of well doing. 

It is impossible, on this occasion, to detail the various mea- 
sures,whlch he pursued during this interesting period — let us se- 
ledl a few. 

When a daring rebellion against the laws, evidently insti- 
gated and designed to prostrate our government, broke out in 
a neighboring state ; with all the tenderness and afTeftion of a 
father, he endeavored to reclaim the disobedient. His charac- 
ter now shone forth with more than usual splendor. Whatever 
a sound head, or a benevolent heart could didlate to prevent the 
eifusion of human blood, was attempted ; and at length, when 
all his kind and paternal admonitions proved abortive, he, in 
mercy, sent a force which forbade resistance, and without the 
loss of a single life, order and obedience to the laAvs were hap- 



WASHINGTONIANA. 187 

pily restored : great was the disappointment of our enemies — 
glorious the result to us. 

During his administration, a still more serious danger was to 
be encountered ; a danger which threatened our peace, and the 
ruin of our commerce. It was a time to try his soul, and his 
soul was tried. The American people having their passions 
heated by the condu£l of Great-Britain, respeding the treaty 
of peace ; their former animosities not yet subsided, and their 
minds enraged by the cruel and unjust depredations on their 
commerce, were ripe for a rupture ; and but for their Wash- 
ington, would have rushed into the horrors of another bloody 
contest with the English nation. He knew their feelings, and 
how little many of them wished for peace and reconciliation. 
The incomparable patriot saw their danger, and happy for Ame- 
rica, he knew his duty. He stepped in between the people and 
the precipice to which they had arrived, and by the wisdom, mo- 
deration and firmness of his condudl:, he, without the desola- 
tions of war, procured for his country, what the loss of thou- 
sands of lives, and millions of treasure, could but have eifeded-— 
lionorabie peace, future safety, and complete justice. 

But time will not permit me further to particularize his great 
and good adions. It must again be left to the faithful histo- 
rian, to record the various efforts of his genius to promote our 
peace, our honor, and our safety. Let it sufiace at present to 
observe, that all the measures which he adopted or recom- 
mended, either as to our internal or external relations, provpd 
him the friend and the father of his people ; and that under his 
administration, these United States rose to a height of prospe- 
rity, unequalled in the annals of history : happy and free at 
home, honored and respeded abroad. His country thus flourish- 
ing under its excellent constitution, and under just and equal 
laws ; encfeasing in wealth and population beyond its most san- 
guine hopes ; peace in all our borders, and the cup of blessings 
overflowing in our habitations. The illustrious patriot. having 
again given us the most paternal advice for our future happiness, 
again retires, and is again followed by the blessings of a grate- 
ful people, and ihe plaudits of an admiring world. 



188 washiNgtoniana. 

Witness for me, my countrymen ; did not every American 
heart then bespeak for him a rest from his public toils ? Did not 
every patriot pray, that to the length of many years, might be 
added his so long wished for repose from public cares ? 

But, behold ! new dangers arise, and his country calls again. 
Haughty, imperious France, threatens our happy union with fa- 
tal divi^ons, and our government with destruftion. The de- 
spoiler of nations denounces our independence, and menaces us 
with ruin. Like Holland shall ye be plundered 1 like Switzer- 
land shall ye be subdued ! and like Venice will we bring you 
into market I wa6 their language to the American people. 

As if the measure of his goodness could not be filled, the 
FATHER OF HIS couNTKY is roused by the indignity offered 
to his children. The ardor of the soldier is not yet damped ; 
the patriot's pulse still beats in unison with the feelings of his 
insulted country. He again obeys her call, and is appointed 
commander in chief of her armies. He again resolves to risk 
his life, and his exalted reputation, in the doubtful fields of w«r. 
Glorious man ! who can do justice to thy merit? Who can find 
thy equal ? Death I thou hast made a blow which thou canst not 
repeat. 

This, my countrymen, is a short, and as ycu all full well 
know, a ver)"^ iniperfedl pi€lure of a life spent for your good, 
and always devoted to your interest. But he is no more 1 Your 
illustrious general, your wise and patriotic president, your con- 
stant and immovable friend, is gone to that bourne from which 
there is no return. And this his natal day, heretofore a day of 
joy and festivity, is changed into a day of mourning and bitter 
grief. Let us not, my countrymen, on this afflidtive occasion 
impiously say, that our God has forsaken us at this eventful and 
perilous period ; let us rather intermingle our sorrows with the 
consolatory refledlions, that his co-patriot Adams lives ; that he 
lives, and now presides with a mind capacious, and a heart sin- 
cere to love his country ; that many worthies — statesmen— sol- 
diers, still remain : a list too long for this days numbering. 



WASHINGTONIANA. 18« 

Their past exploits are known, and tlieir future conduft, under 
God, will promote our welfare. 

But still we must recur to the melancholy truth, that Wash- 
ington IS NO MORE. In him all hearts were united, and in 
the day of danger he was himself an host. He was the choicest 
gift that heaven could have bestowed, and his loss is the most 
grievous dispensation. 

Therefore let all the people mourn ! And thou, dear part- 
ner of his life, his cares and his toils, let our tears assuage thy 
sorrows. 

Let the friends of science ntourn ! He was the patron of 
learning, and in public and private life, endeavored to promote 
tlie encrease of knowledge in his country. 

Ye American farmers, mourn ! The farmer of Mount-Ver- 
non was your friend ; to promote the interests of agriculture, 
was an objeft of his peculiar attention. 

Ye merchants of America, mourn ! To extend, promote, and 
protedl your commerce, employed Ins assiduous care. 

Ye ministers of the holy gospel, and all ye friends of reli- 
gion, mourn ! He was your patron and your friend. Let infi- 
dels hear it and repent. The great, the good, the illustrious 
Washington acknowledged his God in all his ways, The poli- 
tical savior of his country^ loved, worshipped and adored, the 

SAVIOR OF the world. 

Ye venerable matrons, and ye grey haired fathers, mourn ! 
When your sons shall hereafter be called to risk their lives in 
their country's cause, you will no longer exaltingly say, Wash- 
ington leads. 

All ye sons and ye daughters of Columbia, mourn ! when 
dangers from without, or dangers from within shall hereafter 



190 WASHINGTONIANA. 

assail us, we can no longer exultingly exclaim, Washington 
lives. 

Ye soldiers of America, mourn ! The soldier's pride, the sol- 
dier':, boast, the soldier's friend is gone. 

Ye veteran soldiers of America ; ye who have fought under 
kis banners, and conquered by his side, I know not in what lan- 
guage to address you. Shall I call to your remembrance the 
days when, with all his country in his heart, he led you forth 
into the crimson field of war ? Recolle6l the persevering patri- 
otism with which he endured the toils, the haidships, and the 
danglers of the bloody conflict ; recollect the unceasing atten- 
tion which he always paid to your interest, and the unbounded 
afleftion with which he always honored you. He called not on 
you to fight, to make an addition to the sable list of tyrants ; 
lie called not on you to bleed, to encrease the number of slaves. 
Under his guidance you have reared a fabric of freedom, the 
most glorious the world hath ever beheld. Your amiable gene- 
ral ; your beloved Washington, is no more. My honored 
friends, my heart bleeds for you ; I will not tell you to mourn.- 

Ye departed ghosts of heroes, Avho have nobly fallen in this 
your country's cause ; we envy you not this great addition to 
your happiness ; receive your illustrious leader ; it is enough for 
ycu ; bat if ye can, give us the consolation of a moment's grief 
for us. 

Yk angelic hosts-« — but ye cannot weep. O J then pity a 
Tveeping nation. 

But I forbear — words are not necessary to excite our sorrow. 
Does not every eye bespeak our grief, and every heart with 
rending anguish bemoan our loss. Let us rather look around 
for some ray of comfort ; and is there any comfort ? Yes, my 
countrymen, there is: to live, to die, is the lot of human na- 
ture. *' An angel's arm could not have snatched him from the 
grave ;" but O sweet consolation, ten thousand angels can't 
(ipijae bill) there. Already his immortal spirit has been con- 



WASHING TONIAN A. 191 

dufted to the regions of joy, and at the sound of the archan- 
gel's solemn trump, he- will rise, cheerfully rise^ to receive an 
ample reward for all his virtuous deeds, in those realms of bliss, 
■where rivers of delight incessantly flow, and where there are 
pleasures for evermore. 

And here, my countrymen, let us matce a solemn pause. - 

It- has pleased the Almighty Ruler of the universe, who doth 
his will and pleasure in the armies of heaven, and among the 
inhabitants of this earth, to bereave us of our dearest friend — 
" the first in peace, the first in war, and the first in all our 
hearts," Let us improve this painful calamity in such a man- 
ner, as to evince the sincerity of our grief, and the reality of 
our sorrow. Let us emulate his many virtues, and. constantly 
set before us his bright example. We cannot all be Wash- 
ingtons ; he was the peculiar favorite of heaven j but wc can 
all be patriots., and all Christians. , Like him, let u« love our 
country, and in our different stations, exert ourselves to promote 
its welfare. While we lament a Washington, dead ; let us ho- 
nor and support an Adams, living. Like him let us love our 
God, and revere his holy law j by so doing, we shall truly ho- 
nor his memory, and prove to the world that our beloved Wash- 
ington still lives ; that he lives in our hearts. Yes, honored 
shade ! thy name is there engraven, and while gratitude remains 
on earth it shall live. We will tell our children, and they shall 
tell their children, of all the good thou hast done for us, for 
them, and for the world. The aged parent shall recount thy 
heroic anions, and the lisping babe shall repeat them. From 
generation to generation, every father shall teach his son to ve- 
nerate thy WORTH, and to honor thy tomb. 



192 V/ASHINGTONIANA. 

Eulogy on the illustribus George Washington — pronounced at 
Milton. By Charles PiNCKNEr Sumner. 

INDUSTRY pauses from her once cheering labors— the so- 
lemn dirge takes place of the song of mirth ; — our country 
is in tears — her Washington is no more ! 

This day she would fondly have numbered sixty-eight years, 
since propitious heaven, regardful of her coming trials, had 
given him to her aid : proud that he had fulfilled his high des- 
tination, and still continued her faithful defender, she would 
not have turned a melancholy thought to the perils, through 
which he had conduced her. The lively cannon would have 
been but the feint echo to her joy ; — the festal board, the spark- 
ling glass and pleasure-beaming eye would have been but the 
feeble emblem of national hilarity. Henceforth the night of 
his death will be consecrated to sorrow, and shrouded in gloom 
congenial with the majt;sty of her grief. The annual return of 
this once joyful day will long be sacred to her most tender, lov- 
ing sensations, and the smile her countenance may learn to re- 
sume, will receive a melting charm from the tear she cannot 
suppress. 

When fame with swollen eye, first announced our public ca- 
lamity ; we looked, we heard with a responsive sigh : and be- 
cause she trembled while she spoke, — we permitted ourselves the 
hope that report might prove illusive. But this uncertainty,—- 
this painful uncertainty was too dear to endure ; the solemn 
knell, the deepning, universal aspeft of woe soon placed be- 
yond the reach of hope, what our boding hearts feared but too 
true. 

Here is a subjetSl, my friends, on which you all can be elo- 
i|uent ; it becomes the sacrtd place devoted to its contempla- 
tion ; it excites the best, and none but the best feelings of 
Americans : — as they prize their country, they cherish the me- 
mory of her hero, and love at a respedful, admiring distance, 
to follow him through the vicissitudes of her fate. 



)fVASHINGTONIANA. 19:J 

With a mind expanded by the most liberal pursuits, a heart 
tnamored with the charms of honor, devotion to his country was 
his first, his ruling passion. From an early military career, he 
retired with a blooming reputation to the best, well-earned en- 
joyment of life. With easy dignity he looses the soldier in the 
citizen, and graces the arts of peace as well as war. Born for 
the universe, a province is too small a theatre for the display ot 
his talents ; and the situation of our country soon opened the 
mightier field of his destiny. 

With conscious pride he gloried in the prosperity of his king 
and country j — -but for colonial degradation and subserviency he 
had not drawn his ready, his vi£torious sword. American pa- 
tience had been put to the intolerable test ; the plain of Lex- 
ington had drank the blood of its peaceful cultivators ; when 
from that illustrious band of patriots, where first concentred 
the wounded sensibilities of our country — is Washington com* 
missioned to marshal and diredl the rising energies of freedom. 

It is a needless, as it would be a painful task, to dwejl on fa^la 
all know too well ; or to resuscitate the feelings that are better 
at rest : suffice it to remind you, that yonder hills almost in sight 
first received the American hero to the toils of fame : retaining 
still the vestiges of war, they will lecture succeeding genera- 
tions, and teach them to guard their native soil from every insi- 
dious, selfish friend, or haughty foe : their wounded fronts will 
frown on degeneracy, if every hill in America does not rise, like 
the heights of Dorchester, to expel invasion from our indig- 
nant shores. 

In the presence of Washington, resistance assumed a formi- 
dable attitude, confidence looked cheerful, and valor renerved 
the arm still bleeding from the carnage where Warren fell : but 
the two transient duration of patriotic fervor, — the genius of 
our valiant thousands too unfriendly to the restraints of disci- 
pline, — the poverty and unprepareduess of the colonies to meet 
the incalculable extent of their object, created anxieties and 
embarrassments which very few were permitted to share ; which, 
no one perhaps who does not, like him, combine in his character 

Bb 



194 WASHINGTONIANA. 

the talents and the feelings of the statesman, the patriot and 
soldier, can duly appreciate. 

The hero's mind rose with the magnitude of his task. Op- 
position and defeat itself served only to confirm his resolution, 
and call forth the resources of an exhaustless mind. — Indepen- 
dence was declared : and in the blackest hours of disaster Wash- 
ington never dispaired of his country. 

Once only (forgive him freemen) ere his army had become 
inuied to the well directed voUies of discipline, the yielding 
ranks of his retreating soldiery displayed the frightful inipres- 
sions of a veteran enemy :— for one painful moment he thought 
all was lost ; — that Americans were unworthy the freedom, for 
which they too feebly contended ; and shocked to desperation, 
wished by a fortunate, honorable death to free himself from the 
intolerable spedable of his country enslaved. 

When terror spread her darkest clouds over our land ; when 
an unfed, unclothed army, marked the ice and the snow with the 
blood of their retreating footsteps ; when the sword of destruc- 
tion seemed suspended only by a hair ; while rumor with her 
hundred mouths, if possible, magnified our distresses ; and tor- 
tured, languishing hope almost breathed her last ; — the brilliant 
achievement at Princeton turned aside the current of fate ; the 
accomplished but too sanguine Burgoyne is overwhelmed in the 
rising tide of our fortune ; — ^the close invested standards of York- 
town droop submission to the allied arms ; — deluded despotism 
soon gave up the fruitless toils of subjugation, the shattered 
remnants of baffled invasion are withdrawn, and independence 
is confirmed. 

The patriot army now felt the too scanty, delusive recom- 
pense for their heroic toils ; — seven years with joyful obedience 
had they heard the orders of their chief thunder along the em- 
battled line : the wounds of injured bravery bled afresh ; — they 
recoiled at the idea of dissolution. Then might ambition have 
seen hb time and smiled ; then would have trembled the liberties 



WASHINGTONIANA. 195 

•of America had Washington aspired to any other crown than 
her happiness. In language ardent as his heroism, tender as his 
affcdion, he appeals to their untarnished honor ; they revered 
him as a father ; — the appeal was resistless. They saw the con- 
flicling emotions of his breast ; those eyes, which had long wit- 
nessed their toils, which had often smiled at their glory, and 
wept at their suiFerings, with keen anxiety now pierced their 
souls ; they forget themselves ; a pearly tear steals down every' 
cheek ; the latent evil spark U quenched ; their patriotism re- 
flames ; with one heart and voice they resolve to confide in the 
justice of the country they had left all to serve, and give the 
world the illustrious, rare example of ' an army viclorious over' 
its enemies, viiSlorious over itself,' 

His farewell interview with these his dear-loved companions 
can now be faintly imagined : how he stood, — how he looked, 
Avhen each advanced to take the last friendly, impassioned em- 
brace ; — when with a glass in his hand and tears glistening in 
his eyes he wished to eacli his future life might be happy, as his 
past had been honorable ; — let those speak who have witnessed, 
let those attempt to describe who feel themselves equal to th« 
melting scene. 

The war-worn veteran whose feelings have not rusted with 
his sword, will relate the story to his listening son ; — smile to 
see his warm heart susceptive to the touch of glory — and fondly 
destine him for that profession of which no dalliance in the lap 
of ease has obliterated the charms, no reverse of fortune allayed 
his admiration. 

Americans, what a vast weight of your revolution did this 
mighty man sustain ! Taxes were indeed great, were burden- 
some ; but think how often your army was obliged to evade a 
decisive blow ; think of the complicated hardships they endured 
(the relation of which might make you shudder) — because the 
ilame of public spirit too soon died away, and the resources of 
the country had become inaccessible. "What must Washington 
have often felt 1 Every eye in America,-T-in wondering, doubtful 
Europe, was fixt on him. He was a man of humanity j— ^not % 



196 WASHINGTONIANA. 

eentinel felt a grievance he did not painfully commiserate ; he 
■was a man of consummate bravery ; — and to add to the full 
measure of his calamity, the country, -whose fate was hourly 
in his hand, began to murmur, to reproach him with delay : — 
delicate situation ! unconquerable greatness of soul ! His repu- 
tation, dearer to a soldier than life, he sacrificed to your good, 

Americans, the hostile cannon has ceased to shake your 
houses and your hills ; the falling shell no more with horrid 
glare swells the terrors of the night ; — think one momt nt in 
peace of the untold distresses that might, that would have been 
your portion, had not your toils for freedom been crowned with 
success* The Rubicon -was passed ; the hour of compromise 
elapsed. Washington ! the heart recoils at his fate ; and re- 
signs it to your own imaginations : As for you — you might 
have received his majesty's most gracious pardon — might have 
reposed in the tranquil despair of subjugated India — or been 
blest with the liberty, under which distracfled, bleeeding Ire-^- 
land now groans ; Cornwallis might here, instead of there, have 
been governing the provinces his myrmidons had ravished ; 
vf^aich his presumptions imagination had fondly marked out as 
an empire for himself 1 Happy countrymen ! retire to your 
homes, however humble y enjoy your peace, your competence and 
your love ! — kiss the children that throng around your knee, teach 
them to bless God, that they are not born to the inheritance of 
slavery, nor doomed to the horrors of mutual destrudtion ! 

Surrendering his commission and bidding adieu to public 
life, Washington, amid the gratulations of thousands, through 
•ways strewed with flowers, retired to those peaceful shades, of 
■which long absence and mighty cares had heightened the enjoy- 
ment. 

-He retired i but he did not retire -within himself. His mind 
was intent to bless his fellow-men. Unprotecled worth found 
in him a warm patron and friend : Poverty repressed her sigh, 
forgot injustice and smiled complacent on the bounty of his soul. 
The public -welfare was still the darling objeft of his heart, and 
Y^hatever could promote it, it was his chief happiness to pursue^ 



WASHINGTOXIANA. 197 

. The pldure which our common country presented on the at- 
tainment of peace is fresh on every mind. — Her viftory had se- 
cured her freedom : but such a freedom as secured too few of 
the blessings of social life, and threatened to be of short dura- 
tion. The states breathed hard from their struggle, and ex- 
hausted with the burden and heat of the revolutionary day, 
were divesting themselves of the bands of a too feeble confede- 
ration ; and fast dissolving into imbecility and disgrace. Faith 
was worn out ; credit had been swolen till it had burst ; justice 
not only blind, but deaf and dumb, with scales reversed and 
blunted sword, could neither help her votaries, nor protect her- 
self ; the defenders of their country almost addressed themselves 
to her compassion ; the poor soldier begged his bread through 
the land he had saved ; and the fair but trembling f;ibric of so-^ 
clety almost threatened ruin to those it scarcely sheltered. 

The prescient sage of Mount Vernon had foreseen these ap» 
preaching evils ; and early recommended to the several states 
the adoption of such general measures as could alone give per- 
manence to the national felecity, that independence jiut within 
their reach. 

The body politic still survived, healthful and strong in the 
feelings, manners and principles, which immemorial virtuous 
habit had incorporated into her nature. The heftic of internal 
fa£lion had scarcely enfeebled her vitals, nor had foreign Intrigue 
assumed the hardihood to seduce her from herself, and tear her 
limb from limb. 

At length " In order to form a more perfe£l union, establish 
justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common de- 
fence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of 
liberty" — the federal constitution of the United States, the re- 
sult of his presiding wisdom, was adopted, as it wa? formed in 
* a spirit of amity, and of that mutual deference and conces- 
sion, which the peculiarity of our political situation rendered 
indispenslble.' God grant that in this spirit it be long preserv- 
pdj that so it may preserve those for whose boon it is designed \ 



198 ^ WASHINGTOKIANA. 

At the unanimous call of his fellow-citizens, which he coulct 
never hear but with duty and respecSt, he relinquishes every pri- 
vate consideration to make a people happy. Laborious days 
and sleepless nights are now his welcome portion : The govern- 
ment of your choice commences its auspicious operation, and 
Washington presides. Say, did not then every countenance 
look contentment ; every dwelling speak prosperity, and your 
fields assume a more luxuriant smile ? Commerce, then safe in 
her innocence, spread your rising name to the borders of the 
earth, and wafted you the produflions of every clime. You ra- 
pidly grtw, the envy of the world ; were acknowledged happi- 
est, freest, of mankind, and disappointed the doating wish 
of those who seek with eagle eye, in the miscarriage of repub- 
lics, a pretext for the enormities of despotism. 

Americans, this is a trait cf the enchanting pifture which 
Europe admired, confessed.was yours, and kindled into freedom, 
■while she viewed. Will you disclaim it ? Does too close inspec- 
tion and intimacy with tlie original destroy its truth ? Is it too 
highly colored ? — Alas, Washington was not omnipotent I Earth 
is not a paradise !— 

For. eight years he condu(fled the bark of state ; the politi- 
ca_l sky vvfas tempestuous, the winds and the waves were some* 
times unhappily in adverse direflions ; her path was untraversed 
and various minds prevailing with regard to her course, many 
seemed more disposed to counsel the pilot than obey his orders. 
— StriiTt justice was the compass by which he steered ; he rcs- 
pe£\ed the wishes of all, and never went counter to the advice 
of those whom it was his duty to consult ; amid innumera- 
ble difficulties the way of safety was that of glory. — Sedulously 
regarding the interests of all, he relied with just confidence on 
the attachment of an omnipotent majority. With the consci- 
ous invulnerability of virtue, he pardoned the harmless, expeft- 
ed aspersions of the unworthy ; and pursued the firm resolve of 
his unbiassed equal mind. The arduous difficulties of republi- 
can elevation w-cre at lenth appreciated ; and all acquiesced in 
his decree. Having navigated her through the dangers of her 
outset, accustomed her powers to the gale ; and done all that 



WASHINGTONIANA. 199 

human wisdom and integrity could efied, if not all that extra- 
vagance could wish ; he gave afL-dlionate farewell advice to 
those on board, well calculated to make them wise to salvation, 
and resigning the helm to able, faithful, experienced hands, 
sought the tranquil privacy which a fur spent glorious life had 
rendered ' as necessary as welcome.* i 

But his feelings were too keen for his happiness. — Our rich 
unprotedled commerce on all sides falling a devoted prey : our 
country meeting the indignity abroad, which her upright pacidc 
policy had not deserved, and compelled to assume a defensive 
posture ; her Washington is still himself; though mighty cares 
had impaired his strength, the venerable sage with ready hand 
resumes his faithful sword — that sword, whose unsullied justice 
did ' blind men with its beams,' — and like that of Eden flame 
every way to guard invaded rig'ht. — America Avas in array ; for 
who would not throng the standard he would raise — who would 
not croud the ranks of war in the cause for which Washington 
•would contend ? ■- 

Here was the last stage of his long career of renown. The 
pride of his country, the wonder of mankind has like a soldier, 
obeyed the high summons of the God of armies. His associ- 
ates, in the toils of glory, were hourly falling. He stood al- 
most alone on the field of fame, and Vt-as prepared for the ex- 
pelled stroke of fate. The calm fortitude.and presence of mind, 
with which be had often stood the shock of battle, did not for- 
sake him in his last unequalled triumphant confiid. 

The worthy disconsolate partner of his heart, -s^ thank for 
the life-long smile with which she smoothed his brow ; and gave 
his magnanimous cares to the service of his country ; we wish 
her every consolation, earth or heaven can bestow. May the 
decline of her life's mild day be gilded with the calm sunshine 
of the soul, and future generations rise up and call her blessed I 
—His fellow-laborers in war and peace, v/e thank for the perse- 
vering fortitude and wisdom with v;hich they aided our beloved 
chief J they have claims on us which we cannot cancel, but with 



200 WASHINGTONJANA. 

glory, — which j^iateful, admiring' postery -will be too proud ts 
evade. These he loved, to these we resign with painful sympa- 
thy, the sad pre-eminence of grief ; but, my fellow-country- 
men, we were all near and dear to him,- — and his memory shall 
endure — shall be revered forever. 

Bright must be the talents that presume to illustrate one 
adlion of liis life. The unanimity with which he was twice 
elefted president — the universal, deep-felt regret, when he de- 
clined their future suffrages ; — the constant devotedness to his 
fellow-citizens, which no period of his life ceased to manifest ; 
and the deep aspe£t of sorrow this day presents ; — these all desig- 
nate the mafi who most pre-eminently united all hearts ; they 
speak his only adequate, — exalted eulogy, and declare in lan- 
guage unequivocally loud, a nation's unabated confidence and 
love. To praise him in any audience the world could produce, 
would be a dull display of arrogance ; — with Americans it would 
be intolerable ; for who does not love his country, and revere 
her best earthly benefaftor ? Who cannot see the sun in the fir- 
mament ? Who cannot hear the thunder of the sky ? — The ta- 
per only deadens itself that presumes to encrease the splendor 
of noon day. 

What is the noble endowment he did not possess ? with an 
urbanity, that treated with the most obliging respeft those from 
whose opinion he could not but assent ; and with a prudence 
that in any other cliarafter might well have compensated the 
greatest moral deficiency ; he marshalled the phalanx of his vir- 
tues to the benefit of his fellow-men. The spirit of republica- 
nism almost resigned to him the sceptre of your affedlions ; he 
ruled in your hearts. Our history is scarcely more than his bi- 
ography, our freedom and happiness the noblest, we trust unfad- 
ing pidlure of his services and virtues. 

What was once Washington has been deposited with evtvy 
testimonial of gratitude our country can bestow : on this occasion 
only does she lament her republican simplicity, unequal to her 
pomp of woe ; but she consoles herself, that wherein her magni- 
ficence has been deficient, her affedion has been transcendant ; 



WASHINGTONIANA. 201 

and that her hero has departed with a lustre that kings may sigh 
for, but sigh in vain. •♦ 

The sun of glory is set ; the hemisphere is darkened ; smal- 
ler luminaries may now rise and shine : The sun of glory is 
set — but his course is bright with inextinguishable beams. He 
has thrown light on most beclouded regions, and taught man- 
kind the dignity of man. Illustrious nation, over whom he has 
shone, to whose temperament his mild radiance was congenial ; 
— happy those, who, in other climes attempting to move in his 
orbit, neither consume themselves nor their country In the flame 
they raise, but cannot control.— Thrice blest mankind, where 
liberty can wear a tearless smile, and virtue trust her constant 
friends. 

The shades of Vernon to remotest time, will be trod with 
awe ; the banks of Potomac will be hallowed ground. The 
aged oak shall sigh plaintive in the breeze. The little skiff shall 
suspend the laboring oar, and in soft melancholy twilight glide 
in silence by the sacred spot where drooping willows mark the 
sage's tomb. The alert seaman, while his well trimmed bark 
moves majestic on the moaning wave, shall with proud resped, 
strike the topsail he has reared in every quarter of the globe. 

In some far distant commercial port, our fellow-countrymen 
hail this day with joy. The flags of all nations lightly wave 
from a forest of masts ; all is gaiety. Around the bounteous 
board they wish health and long life to him whose name on their 
sea-letter has served them instead of cannon, ensured them res« 
pe£t wherever they displayed the American stars. Some neigh- 
boring fortress shakes the friendly coast with its responsive roar ; 
the sons of Columbia cast a long look of filial respedl to their 
native land, and unconscious of the mournful spedacle, she now 
presents, — rejoice that her defender lives ! — Good souls ! let 
them enjoy the passing hour of mirth, ' v^here ignorance is bliss, 
'tis folly to be wise.' 

Illustrious man ! in what region of the earth has not thy 
*aine been heard with praise ? Posterity shall admire and love 

Cc 



202 WASHINGTONIANA. 

thee : — And If, In the vast orb of thy glory, our darkened op- 
tics can descry a spot, we trust it will, like those of the sun, be 
soon obsorbed in thy pure effulgence. The temporary cloudi 
which, for thy country, thou hast permitted to obscure thy 
deeds, time will soon dispel, and thy fame will brighten with 
the flight of years. 

Amesicahs, 
For a life devoted to your service, what docs Washington 
deserve ? The rising trophied column shall from far attradt the 
admiring eye. The enduring statue with emulative care will 
present to revering posterity his august attitude and awful form. 
History shall be immortal, as just to his worth. Poesy shall 
robe him in unborrowed charms. A city, after the majestic 
model of his mind, bearing his name, shall concentrate our na- 
tional glory, as he does our affedllons. — These a grateful empire 
will voluntarily pay ; but, he deserves more ; — he deserves the 
only reward he would ever accept, he deserves that you be faith- 
'ful to yourselves, that you be free, united and happy : That par- 
ty asperity from this memorable day subside ; and all with libe- 
ral eye seek private interest in the common weal. 

Thus shall your eleftlve government, the true mirror of the 
general will, present an image that can never be disowned, and 
millions rise a standing army in support of the constitution and 
laws by which they are blest. Insurre£lion from the quiet sleep 
of death will not rear her devoted head, — invasion never dream 
of your shores, or be appalled at the view : Peace at home will 
ensure invincibility abroad : You shall fear no shock but that 
of the universe. The old worthies, who with Washington il- 
lumed and cherished the tempered, undying flame of freedom, 
shall never shake their white locks, and sigh that their labors 
have been in vain. Your union shall subsist to everlasting ge- 
nerations, the best, the deserved monument to his fame, who 
led the army that achieved your Independence ; — who presided 
in the councils, that commenced your endless career of happi- 
ness. 



WASHINGTONIANA. 203 

Funeral oration, occasioned by the death of general George 
Washington ; and delivered in the episcopal church, at 
Neio-Rochelle, in the state of Neiv-York. By Samuzl 
BATARDy Esq, 

Friends and fellow-citizens, 

NOT to mourn with a mourning country — not to mingle 
our tears with those of the American people on the pre- 
lent melancholy occasion, would argue a reproachful want of 
social sympathy. And not in some public manner to express 
the regrets we feel at the irreparable loss our country has just 
sustained, would be an impeachment of our sensibility as men, 
and of our patriotism as citizens. 

Through the channel of our public prints, we learn that 
our country mourns the departure of her first and favorite son. 
On this occasion " the mourners" emphatically " go about the 
streets," and the traces of " grief unfeigned" are beheld in the 
public countenance. On the arms of every class of our fellow- 
citizens we see the emblems of that sorrow which their bosoms 
feel. Our national council stand forward in the first rank of 
mourners ; every public body through the union follows in the 
sad procession. Our churches are clad in black. Their tolling 
bells in unison with the public sentiment, add solemnity to the 
scene, and deepen the gloom that beclouds the public mind. 
Our army — our navy— every political circle — every religious de- 
nomination — how divided soever in their sentiments on other 
topics, all unite in deploring the loss of the most universally 
beloved and respected charadler, which this, or any country on 
earth ; which this, or any prior age has ever produced. 

Yes, my friends, the sighs and tears of our affli^led country, 
«n every side proclaim, that Washington is dead j As if an 
angel from heaven had announced it, the melancholy intelligence 
is every where heard with sorrow and dismay. We ask our- 
selves if it be possible, that one so eminent for talents, so enob- 
led by his virtues, so rich in the esteem and afFeAion of his 
country, is indeed no more. Alas ! the event is but too certain. 



204 V/'ASHINGTONIANA. 

Washington, the hero, the sage, the friend of liberty, and the 
fiither of his country, is now sleeping in his grave. Never 
more shall his majestic form be seen at the head of our armies ; 
never more shall his enlivening voice be heard in the hall of our 
national senate ; his wisdom and experience shall no longer di-, 
re£l our councils, nor his presence again call forth the enthusi- 
astic admiration of his country. 

Mute is that tongue, whose acccents were never beard but 
with attention and respeft ; and lifeless that form which once at- 
trafted the gaze of thousands. Low it lies beneath the ♦* clods 
of the valley," never to rise again, till the trump of the great 
arch-angel shall wake it from the dead. 

Yet, could talents the best employed, or virtues the most 
sublime ; could the prayers of surrounding friends, or the influ- 
ence of medical skill ; could the wishes, or supplications of an 
afFeclionate and grateful country have suspended the immutable 
decree of heaven, his life would have been immortal as his fame. 
But no, his work was finished — his tour of earthly duty closed— 
and that awful moment had arrived when his manly frame must 
<' return to the dust as it was," and his enlightened " spirit to 
the God who gave it." 

The removal of such a chara£ler from a state of trial, to a 
state of rest, is an event calculated to inspire every refledling 
mind with pious awe. It is calculated to awaken those senti- 
ments of esteem and veneration which we have been accustomed 
to cherish for the illustrious dead ; and it calls upon every 
citizen who honors merit, or who loves his country, to pay the 
tribute of a tear, to the memory of the -boast and ornament of 
the present age. 

Yet what can we do, or what can we say, that can add to 
the lustre of his fame. As well might we by the aid of a taper 
endeavor to add splendor to yonder sun, as to cncrease his repu- 
tation by our praise. His own aftions, and his own sentiments, 
recited with that simplicity which charadlerised his stile of writ- 
ing and of speaking, will ever constitute his highest eulogium. 



WASHINGTONIANA. 503 

Still, however his merits may transcend our praise, we can 
express our admiration of his charafter, and our gratitude for 
his services ; and although we have neither wealth nor power to 
raise a mausoleum to his memory, we can embalm his virtues 
with our tears, and raise a monument to his glory, in the affec- 
tions of our hearts. 

So many are the splendid and good aftions of his life ; so nu- 
merous and impressive the maxims of sound and liberal policy 
delivered to his country, since she first assumed a place among 
the nations of the world, that merely to recite them, would fill 
a volume. Be this the historian's duty ; and be it ours at pre- 
sent simply to point out a few of those estimable tradls of cha- 
racter, and of those eminent services which have raised our 
Washington's, above every Grecian and Roman name ; above 
every name that stands on the records of modern history. 

There are two charadlers in which he has appeared most fa- 
miliar to our minds ; as a hero, and a sage ; as our general 
in war, and our president in peace ; in each of these charac- 
ters, requiring qualifications so different, let us for a moment 
contemplate this unequalled man. In both we shall find him ex- 
hibiting those high endowments of mind, and those excellent 
qualities of heart, which have rendered him an honor to his 
country, and a blessing to the world, 

*' In war" says an author* (now second in point of rank in 
the federal government) " In war we have produced a Wash- 
ington, whose memory will be adored while liberty shall have 
votaries ; wliose name will triumph over time, and will in future 
ages assume its just station among the celebrated worthies of 
the world, when that wretched philosophy shall be forgotten, 
that would arrange him among the degeneracies of nature." 

Although not educated a soldier ; although unskilled in 
military tadlics, and unpraftised in the European system of 
war ; we behold him at the voice of his country, (expressed by 

* Mr, Jefferson. 



306 WASHINGTONIANA. 

the unanimous vote of its delegates in congress) assumlijg the 
chief command of an army, raised in defence of the rights, and 
to prevent the subjugation, of these states. 

He undertook this important and hazardous charge, not for 
the sakij cf personal emolument. With a generosity as disin- 
terested as it Avas unexampled, when he first accepted the ap- 
pointment, he expressly declined receiving any compensation for 
his services. From this resolution he never departed. Whate- 
ver increase of fortune others may have derived from the Ame- 
rican revolution ; whatever rewards other generals may have 
received from the gratitude of their country, the commander 
IN CHIEF declined every compensation offered for his unparal- 
leled services. He wished for no reward, save the approving 
voice of his own conscience and of his fellow-citizens. Nor 
was honor more than emolument his aim, in accepting this ap- 
pointment. What honor could he expedl to derive from com- 
manding a body of undisciplined militia — a hasty association of 
citizens ; who, whatever might'be tlieir enthusiasm for liberty, 
or their native bravery, must prove unequal opponents to men 
who had been trained to arms ; to veteran soldiers T.hose puo- 
fcssion was war, and whom discipline had rendered obedient as 
machines. 

No, the great ruling principle of his life, was love to his 
country, zeal for her interest and welfare, founded on rules of 
eternal justice. It was this sublime principle which supported 
him amidst the trials, the dangers and fatigues which he had 
to encounter during the three first years of the American con- 
test. It was from a conviction that his governing motive was 
the public good, that tlie American people, notwithstanding 
their early disasters, never lost their confidence in him. They 
were satisfied of his talents, and they were still more assured of 
his seal and sincerity in the cause he had espoused. What 
other charafter beside himself could have kept together the shat- 
tered remains of our army at the close of the unfortunate cam- 
paign of '76 ? Had he through fear for his person or his proper- 
ty ; through levity, disgust, or despondence, then abandoned 
the cause of liberty, who afterwards could have rallied the brok- 



WASHINGTONIANA. 207 

en, dispirited remains of our federal army ? Who couM have 
roused a sufficient spirit in the country to oppose any efFedual 
resistance to the vi£lorious troops of Britain ? This was a period 
of trial ; and at this period the fijmness, the intrepidity, the 
patience and heroism of our commander in chief, like the 
beams of a bright and cheering star, suddenly bursting from be 
neath a thick cloud in a stormy night, shone forth to the asto- 
nishment and joy of United America. From the lowest state 
of depression, the public mind -was now elevated to hope, and 
encouraged to perseverance. 

The eventful campaign of '77, though attended with some 
disasters, terminated advantageously to the American cause. 
The capture of one entire British army, and the resolute resist- 
ance opposed to another, ensured us at the commencement of 
the campaign of '78, the effedual aid of France. An aid, 
prompted by whatever motive — whether by that of reducing the 
power of an ancient rival, of aggrandizing herself, or of re- 
venging former losses and defeats, was nevertheless of incal- 
culable Importance in the establishment of American Inde- 
pendence. From this time our affairs brightened till the 
glorious campaign of '81, which ended with the capture of a 
second British army, under the command of one of the most 
able and enterprlzing generals that Britain could boast. This 
decisive event satisfied the English government that the subju- 
gation of America was impra£licable, and led to the final ac- 
knowledgment of American independence. 

The close of war, and the return of peace, so pleasing to 
all, was peculiarly grateful to the heart of our excellent Wash- 
ington. He loved retirement. He had left It with regret, 
•wholly from a sense of duty, and not from a wish for change. 
With pleasure he anticipated the moment when he should again 
lose the commander of an army in the private citizen. That 
moment had now arrived. His services as a general are no 
longer necessary. His army is about to be disbanded. He is 
about to be separated (possibly for ever) from the companions 
of his cares and dangers, from men who for eight years had 
shared his perils and anxieties, and who had been witnesses of 



208 WASHINGTOXIANA. 

his wisdom and his valor. But at this closing scene of the dra- 
ma, he is not permitted to sheathe the sword and return to his 
loved retreat, without performing a memorable service to his 

country a service in which his personal agency, his zealous and 

>Yell timed exertions, prevented a great national evil ; prevent- 
ed his army from tarnishing the laurels he had acquired through 
a long and glorious war, and instead of defenders, becoming the 
despoilers of their country. 

The. pay of this army was greatly in arrear. They had re- 
ceived already much of what was due to them in a depreciated 
paper currency. In discharge of what their country still owed, 
the same currency, and remote unsettled lands were to form the 
materials of their compensation. They were about to return to 
the pursuits of civil life, with only the shadow of reward, for 
years of danger and of toil ; for health Impaired, and the prime 
of life devoted to the public service. They expected more of 
their country. Their country regretted that their exhausted 
resources then enabled them to do no more. The army urged 
by the artful insinuations of an anonymous writer, were on the 
point of rising, while yet embodied, and of wresting from their 
country by force, that compensation which they had in vain de- 
manded of its justice. Never did zeal for the welfare of his 
country, and the honor of his army, blaze forth with greater 
splendor even in the anions of a Washington, than oirthls oc- 
casion. By private influence ; by public persuasion ; by an ap- 
peal to the honor of soldiers, and the patriotism of citizens ; 
by the regard they owed, to their personal charadter, and their 
country's good ; by every motive that could influence a gene- 
rous mind, he conjured them to disband in peace, and to expeft. 
from the justice and gratitude of their country, what they were 
instigated to extort by violence. His influence was triumphant. 
He succeeded in preserving the honor of his army and his coun- 
try from an unnatural civil war. 

This great objecfl accomplished, we see the American hero 
resigning the chief command of the army, and retiring Into pri- 
vate life, amid the plaudits and benediclions of his admiring 
country. He hoped ; he believed lie had now taken a final fare- 



WASHINGTOMIANA. 209 

Well of public life. His glory seemed to be complete. It ap- 
peared to be placed beyond the reach of fortune's hand, and to 
have had the seal of immortality impressed upon it. But no ; 
the will of heaven had otherwise decreed. New cares and new 
duties await him. Again his chiracler is to pass through the 
furnace of general scrutiny, and his fame once more be launch" 
ed on the restless ocean of popular opinion. 

The feebleness of our general government every day becom- 
ing more and more notorious ; the decay of our commerce ; the 
decline of manufactures ; the loss of individual and national 
credit ; the weakness of some states, and the interfering claims 
of others, threatening to involve us in domestic broils, and ex- 
posing us to the attack of any foreign invader ; imperiously de- 
manded the review of our articles of confederation, and the 
substitution in their place, of an efficient form of government. 
A convention is according assembled. A plan of national go- 
vernment is framed. It is recommended to the people. It is 
adopted and put in operation* 

Again. this great and good bian, by the unanimous voice of 
his country is called to sit at the helm of the new government, 
and to execute its laws. He accepts the call, but not for him- 
self. Once more he expressly declines receiving any emolument 
for his services. At the close of the first period, for v/hich he 
had been eledled president, had he consulted only his person- 
al case or enjoyment he would have quitted his elevated station, 
and returned to private life. But higher motives influenced his 
mind. Love to his country, and the critical state of her affairs, 
induced him again at the uninfluenced, unanimous call of his fel- 
low-citizens to accept the charge of presiding over the United 
Sfates. With what fidelity ; with what judgment; with what 
firmness and devotion of time and talents, he fulfilled the duties 
of this high station, no American citizen need be informed. 

We have seen him in all his measures, endeavoring to pro- 
mote or preserve the peace, the welfare, and the happiness of 
his country. We have seen him filling the various departments 
of government with men of talents, of integrity, and of private 

Dd 



210 WASHINGTON! AN A. 

"\vorth» We have seen him sacrificing his personal attachments 
on the altar of the public good ; and amidst all the obloquy heap- 
ed on him by a few faftlous spirits, who were more friendly to 
the views of a foreign power, than to the interests of their own 
government ; we in no instance see him taking any measure from 
resentment, but with a magnanimity above all praise, suffering 
the slanders that were pr«pagated, to die unnoticed. 

FiRMNEssi of mind was a quality for which he was eminently 
distinguished. But when was this estimable trait of chara£ter 
more strikingly displayed, than in the condudl he observed to- 
wards the first ambassador of republican France. 

When that bold, but ill-advised minister, seconded by a 
powerful party among ourselves, endeavored to subje£t the 
measures of our government, to the will of his own — when he 
sought by every artifice to involve us in a war with Great-Bri- 
tain ; and when, on discovering the fixed resolution of our go- 
vernment, to preserve a neutrality amid the contentions of the 
European powers, he threatened to appeal from the decision of 
the PRESIDENT, to that of the people ; what was the conduct 
of our immortal Washington ? Convinced of the reditude of 
his own views, and the soundness of his policy j fearless of the 
threatened resentment of France, and superior to the clamours 
of -party, we see him stand like a firm and venerable oak, against 
which the storms of fadion beat with fury ; but beat in vain. 

Another crisis soon occurred in our affairs, which required 
the exercise of inflexible firmness, and consummate prudence. 

The first naval power in the world, proud of her own strength, 
and fortified by an alliance with the governments, that first coa- 
lesced to crush the democratic system of France, at the close 
of the year '93, issued orders, the tendency of which was to 
ruin the commerce of the United States. Our unarmed mer- 
chantmen were seized, wherever met, by British cruisers ; con- 
veyed into British ports, and there condemned. Their cargoes 
without discrimination were confiscated, and our wretched sea- 
men destitude of aid in foreign countries, and stripped of ever/ 



WASHINGTONIANA. 211 

thing valuable, by the hands of merciless captors, were obl'igTcl 
to borrow, or to beg, the means of returning to their native 
country. The public mind indignant at these spoliations on our 
trader was prepared at e'very risk, for defensive war : Our na- 
tional council too, feeling for the injured dignity, and adopt- 
ing the sentiments of their constituents, commenced a system 
of measures that must soon have led to an open rupture with 
Creat-Britain. 

All eyes were now direAed to the chief magistrate of 
the Union. In circumstances so embarrassing, what conduct 
could he pursne that would at once secure the interest, and pre- 
serve the ho"nor of the United States. Uninfluenced by resent- 
ment, or by party spirit, and consulting only the true honor and 
interest of his country, he resolves on making one great effort 
to avert the calamities of war ; persuaded that if unsuccessful 
in the attempt, his fellow-citizens would be more united and de- 
termined in measures of defence. 

In prosecution of this system of pacific policy, we see him 
with equal jadgment and patriotism, selecting as the messen- 
ger of peace, a citizen* of known prudence and ability, whose 
firmness, integrity, and eminent public services, had long en- 
deared him to his country, and fixed him in her confidence. A 
negociation takes place. Commenced with moderation and good 
faith, it could not proye abortive. It resulted in a treaty, af- 
terwards ratified by the president, with the approbation of 
the SENATE, which preserved our national honor, and, what 
was of more Importance than language can describe, saved us 
from the fearful vortex of a most destructive Avar. 

To prevent the ratification of this treaty, and thus to em- 
broil us in a war with England, every artifice which French 
intrigue could devise, was pradised, but happily without effed. 
Neither flattery nor abuse could divert the steady, undeviating 
mind of our enlightened president, from pursuing that line, 
of conduit which became the government of a neutral nation.- 

* Mr. Joy^ the present governor of New-YDrk^ 



•J 12 WASHINGTONIANA. 

At tills momentous epoch, the friends of virtue, and the 
lovers of peace, in Europe, as well as in America, btheld his 
manly and judicious conduft, and beheld it with mingled aston- 
ishment and delight. In their eyes, as in ours, he seemed, 

" Like some tall rock that lifts its anvful fcrw.y 
Swells from the vale, and midway leaves the storm ; 
Tho' round its b"east, the rolling clouds be spread^ 
Eternal sunshine settles on its head,''* 

From the elevated place of puesident of the United 
States, we see him now vohintaiily descend, and once more re- 
tire to the humble duties and enjoyments of private life. He 
retires, full of glory as of years ; and like the setting sun, re- 
tains a fuller orb of greatness, than when in the meridian of 
life and power. 

The hostile language and conduct of France, within the las^ 
three years having rendered defensive armaments necessary, by 
land as well as by sea, once more his country claims his aid, as 
the commander of her forces. He assists in organizing the ar- 
my, and notwithstanding the infirmities of age, and his predir 
lection for private life, stands prepared to take the field, should 
it be necessary, in defence of his native land. But while dis- 
charging the duties of this high command, he is summoned by 
heaven to another scene. A mortal disease attacks him. Its 
progress is rapid. It baffles the exertions of tlie most eminent 
professors of medicine. From its first approaches, he foresees 
its fatal issue. He arranges his affairs with composure. He 
languishes scarce twenty-four hours ; then with a resignation 
worthy of his useful life, on the fourteenth day of the last 
month, he finished his glorious career on earth, and hastened 
to that " bourne from which no tr3.veller returns." 

Return then great and virtuous spirit, to the bosom of thy 
Father and thy God ! While thy frame here moulders in the 
dust, bedewed with the tears of the worthy and the wise ; thv 

* Goldsmith* w 



WASHINGTONIANA. 213 

soulj freed from the shackles that chained it to the earth, shall 
•wing its flight to regions of eternal bliss. May the tutchtry 
angels who waitch over the interests of this great and growing 
empire, welcome thee with triumph, to the abodes of the bkst. 
There, amidst friends and companions of thine earthly labors ; 
amid the sages and patriots of other ages, and other countries — 
encircled by a Warren and Montgomery ; a Socrates and a 
Cato ; a Sully and a Plampden ; may'st thou taste those pure 
enjoyments, which saints and angels only know ; whicli " eye 
hath not seen, nor ear heard ; neitlier hath it entered into the 
heart of man to conceive." 

To us, who still travel on in this " vale of tears" — to us it 
belongs to honor his memory, and to imitate his virtues. While 
his country records his glory, and ere6ls a monument to his 
fame, American citizens, to remotest ages, will hold his cha-r 
radler in remembrance gnd esteem. 

With pride and pleasure they will remember their beloved 
Washington, whose fame adds lustre to his age and country ; 
in whose character were combined more exalted virtues, unalloy-^ 
ed by the extremes to which such virtues' are most exposed, than 
in the character of any man of whom we have heard or read. 
Never did any man better understand the human characTLer, or 
employ more suitable agents for the accomplishment of his 
views and plans. In a remarkable degree, he united genius, 
with judgment ; the enterprize of youth, with the caution of 
age. He was brave, but not rash ; fearless of death, but not 
prodigal of life. He possessed zeal without intemperance, libe- 
rality without profusion, and oeconomy without avarice. His 
piety was rational and si.ncere, tindured neither with supersti- 
tion nor hypocrisy. His dignity never wore the garb of haugh- 
tiness,, nor his modesty that of afleclion. Moderate in prospe- 
rity, he never lost his equanimity in misfortune — faithful to his 
friends, he pitied and forgave his enemies. He lived the hero, 
the statesman, and the sage ; and died the humble, and resign- 
ed believer. Behold the man, whom while alive, his country 
esteemed and loved, and whose memory now, she " delights to 
honor," 



2i.{ washingtoniaka; 

Author of his being, and parent of everj' good I we bless 
thee for having raised up so great and good a man, and for 
having lent his precious life for such a lapse of years to the A- 
merican people i 

I CAKNOT close this addreas In a manner more becoming, or 
in language so elegant and pathetic, as that used by our national 
senate in their letter of condolence to the president of the 
United States. 

Adopting their words, every American may with truth, 
and from the heart say — " With patriotic pride we review the 
life of our Washington, and compare him with those of other 
countries who have been pre-eminent in fame. Ancient and 
modern names are diminished before him. Greatness and guilt 
have too often been allied ; but his fame is whiter than it is 
brilliant. The destroyers of nations stood abashed at the ma- 
iesty of his virtue. It reproved the intemperance of their am- 
bition and darkened the splendor of vidlory. The scene is clos- 
ed, and we are no longer anxious lest misfortune should sully 
Jiis glory ; he has travelled on to the end of his journey and 
carried with him an encreasing weight of honor ; he has depo- 
sited it safely, where misfortune cannot tarnish it, where malice 
cannot blast it. Favored of heaven, he departed without exhi- 
biting the weakness of humanity ; magnanimous in death, the 
darkness of ihe grave could not obscure his brightness. 

" Such was the man whom Ave deplore. Thanks to God, his 
glory is consummated : Washington yet lires on earth in his 
spotless example ; his spirit is in heaven. 

" Let his countrymen consecrate the memory of the hefoic 
general, the patriotic statesman, and the virtuous sage : Let 
tbem teach their children never to forget that the fruits of his 
labors, and his example, arc their inheritance." 



WASHINGTONIANA. .315 

Oration, delivered to the citizens of Burlington^ in commemo- 
ration of general George Washington, By William 
Griffith, Esq, 
t 

THE DAY, ■which for so many years has never returned, 
but to suffuse every eye with pleasurable recolleftion, 
and to gladden every heart with delightful anticipation — this 
day, which gave to human nature, an ornament ; to America, 
her greatest benefador ; and to the world, a bright exemplar 
of every virtue, by a mysterious providence, has become an 
epoch of painful retrospedlion, and unavailing sorrow. 

Whilst its annual returns gave to a grateful people, ano- 
ther, and another, opportunity of honoring the living objedl of 
their affe£lions, the rapture of their possession seemed to repress 
the admonitions of time, or but faintly listened to the voice, 
which told us that Wasaington must die. 

This event, which all knew would happen, was by all post- 
poned ; and each one cherished the fond Illusion, that he, who 
had surpassed all others, in glory and in usefulness, might also 
add a new prerogative to humanity, and exceed the ordinary li- 
Hiits of mortal existence. 

Vain were our wishes, and unrealized our hopes ! The 
deep, the extensive, the unceasing lamentation, which is heard 
throughout the American empire, proclaims to the wo^rld, that 
Washington is no more ! 

Yes I that mind which penetrated the destinies of his coun- 
try — that courage which undertook her deliverance — that wis- 
dom and fortitude which led her to independence — that love 
which planted the tree of liberty here, and watered it with the 
tears of parental solicitude — they no longer animate your Wash- 
ington ! 

To you, Avho have felt the public shock, and added so 
many tears to the tide of public -jrief, it were unnecessary to 



file WASKINGTOISilANA. 

describe its extent, and unkind to retouch the senslhlHty, 
which an event so sudden and so affeiSting has produced in ouf 
country. 

Inviteb through your preference on this day, dedicated by 
national rfspe<5l to the commemoration of the illustrious dead, 
to exert my efTorts — alas how unequal ! in rendering homage 
to Ills exalted charadler — it is due to my own convictions, and 
to your expectations, that I renounce the design of personal 
and historical panegyric. 

I HAVE no expressions ■vvhich can convey an euloghim on 

Washington ! 1 stand not here to delineate his person ! • 

You, who saw him in the vigor of life, when prostrate freedom 
first dyed his cheek v/ith flushes of resentment- — indignant at 
her wrongs ! and the voice of his country summoned him to her 
succour — you can never forget his graceful form, and his com- 
manding aspeft'.^ — V7e, who have seen him bending with years, 
and furrowed with public cares, can never forget the filial re- 
verence which his presence inspired And to you, who have 

never seen him — and to posterity — a West and a Stewart, have 
given of his figure and countenance, whatever art could bor- 
row from the life. 

Nor do I stand here to recount his adions, or to grace with 
the splendors of language, his intrinsic claims to present and 
to future admiration. 

The great drama, in which he bore so conspicuous a part, is 
over. — To review its august scenery — to rehearse its wonder- 
ful events — to follow him in all its vicissitudes, were eq^ually 
supeifi'jous, and impossible. 

You require no register of his achievements ; for you were 
all witnesses of their performance, or partakers in their bene- 
fits — adors with him, or spedators 1 they are imprinted on 
every heart, and live in charaders indelible as his own unrival- 
led pre-eminence. 



WASHINGTONIANA. 217 

The faithful page of history will hand down, to succeeding 
ages, his exploits of war, and arts of peace : — To other pens 
must be committed the delightful ofRce, with glowing rhetoric, 
and in immortal song, to trace the countless services which he 
rendered to his country, in unceasing honors, and boundless 
gratitude, by which they were rewarded. 

While orators mount through the annals of time, and exa- 
mine the lists of fame, for subjedls of historic resemblance, and 
models of eulogistic contrast, while poets and historians are emu- 
lous to transmit to other times, the striking incidents of his for- 
tune and the varied brilliant succession of important adlions, 
which distinguished him above other men — I would leave com- 
parison to those who can find parallels ; and the relation of bat- 
tles and triumphs, to those who excel in epic eloquence. 

On this occasion you will permit me, my indulgent audience, 
to pursue a less splendid — but, may I hope, not an unpleasing 
theme. 

I WOULD draw you' from the contemplation of those past 
events, and personal objedls, which so dazzle and captivate our 
senses — and fix your minds upon the inherent qualifica- 
tions, which rendered his life so useful ; his example so im- 
pressive ; and his precepts so invaluable. 

My countrymen 1 If you have seen your enemy wasted, de- 
defeated, and driven from your borders, under his military gui- 
dance — if order, peace and happiness, have grown out of his 
civil administration — if his experience in war and in govern- 
ment claims your highest consideration, and his truth and love 
give intrinsic weight to his opinions — it is of the utmost impor- 
tance, and an obvious duty, that we imitate the conduct, and 
pursue those maxims, which rendered him illustrious, and Ame- 
rica powerful and happy. 

His life — his virtues — and his principles address themselves 
to our imitation, in every relation, which conneds us with each 
other, and with our common country. 

E e 



218 washingtoniana; 

Toiin^- Mi'u of America ! 
Tub; early years of Washington, -will teach you lessons of 
temperance, of industry, and of virtuous ambition. 

At an age, when other youth scarcely begin to think of their 
future deststination, he had acquired those solid endowments 
of mind, and those aftive habits of body, which were one day 
to point him out, and qualify him to be, the leader of her ar- 
mies, and the proteclor of his counry. 

He despised the lethargy of indolence, and the allurements 
of pleasure ; nor suffered himself to be enervated, by the soft 
voluptuousness, and not always guiltles dissipations, of thought- 
less minority. 

Hk was, from his j'outh, fond of that fame which follows 
merit : — He sought for that honorable promotion ; and wait- 
ed, with modest expedation, for advancement to stations of high- 
er rank, and more extensive usefulness. 

Hi was in arms before lie gained his twentieth year : and 
when not yet twenty-two, performed, with equal judgment and 
intrepidity, a difficult and dangerous mission intrusted to him 
by the councils of his native state. 

He was not twentty-four, when he rescued from the rage of 
savage conquerors, the remnant of Braddock's devoted army ; and 
gave those signal proofs of gallantry and prudence, which, in 
his general, had led to safety and honor. 

The fatigues of a frontier war, and the progress of a pul- 
monary disease, forced him, at twenty-seven, to resign the 
rank of a colonel, which he then held in the provincial 
army. 

From that time, until he year 1775, when he accepted the 
command of the American forces, he was occupied in domestic 
duties, in agricultural improvements, and in executing the offices 
of a magistrate, a judge and a member of the legislature. 



WASHINGTONIANA. 21^ 

It was during this period of his life, a fpace of about six- 
teen years, in which he investigated the principles, and ma- 
tured his opinions, on the subjedof government ; and obtained 
that extensve acquaintance with the rights of his country, and 
the just liberties of his felloW-men ; which to assert, defend 
and establish, ^ccame his arduous, but successful employment. 

Lkt it not be said, that he owed his first elevation, or future 
greatness, to opulent patrimony, extensive patronage, or acade- 
mic favors. 

He began without fortune ; and thought it no degradation 
to turn his knowledge of geometry, to the purposes of an honest 
independence. — He was an orphan at ten years old — and that 
patronage was far from powerful, which had designated him to 
an inferior naval appointment: — And in scholastic honors, of- 
ten useless as they are undeserved, Ke commenced his important 
life, with no degrees but those, which virtuous resolutions con- 
fer on private diligence and useful study. How consoling 
should it be to the ingenuous bosom, which, in seeming obscu- 
rity, is panting for merited dlstinftion, to perceive, that the 
most splendid hero, and accomplished legislator of the age, ow- 
ed no share of his great reputation, to the accidental circum- 
stances of birth and patronage — but raised his imperishable fame 
upon the basis of a disinterested patriotism, and the native vir- 
tues of an uncorrupted heart. 

Be animated then, ye generous youth, to follow his great 
example :• — Emulation must not be extinguished by despair ; 
nor effort remitted from hopeless competition. 

Be encouraged by the persuasion, that his usefulness and fe- 
licity, were founded on those qualities of the heart, which are 
of no uncommon growth ; and those properties of the mind 
which are of no difficult acquirement. 

Be diligent in your studies ; be temperate In your pleasures ; 
be aftive and fearless, in the pursuit of duty ; aspire to honor 
tlvough the paths of virtue j seek for public favors by public 



220 WASHINGTONIANA. 

benefits : — And, if Washington, has left you no empire to 
save, and no government to establish ; yet your country still 
has room, for the display of all your talents — occasions for the 
exercise of all your virtues — and rewards for your most distin- 
guished services. 

Defenders of your Country! 

If foreign aggression, or civil discord shall call you to the 
scene of war, let the image of Washington remind you of all 
which can dignify the soldier, or sanction the triumphs of a 
conqueror. 

Rkmember, that he considered war, not as a trade, which 
■was to enrich him with spoils, or wreath his temple with laurels, 
but as a necessary effort to wrest his country from oppression, 
and to crown her with peace and liberty. 

The history, and the eulogy, of the crowd of warriors, which 
fame, or rather, which infamy, has perpetuated — what are they 
but a register of crimes against heaven and virtue — against in-, 
nocence and the rights of mankind ? 

These, were like those lawless stars, which, with redden- 
ing glare approach our orbit, shooting terror into the hearts of 
men, and threatening the world with deluge and conflagration. 

Not so, the Patriotic Chief of America ! — He was the sun, 
which cheerpd and animated every heart, and spread around him, 
the effulgence of his own pure fires : — And if, sometimes, clouds 
obscured his ascent, his country never despaired — always confid- 
ing in that constancy, which knew no change — and that vigor, 
which was never exhausted. 

In the history of those eight memorable campaigns, which 
spread over the face of America desolation and blood, you will 
learn the energies of his persevering fortitude — the resourses of 
his exhaustless genius — and the triumphs of his undaunted va- 
lor. 



WASHINGTONIANA. 221 

And whilst you are fired with emulation of his ad\ions, let 
his motives and his moderation, diredl and limit your ambition. 
Prosperity could never, swell him into insolence ; nor disaster 
sink him to despondence : — By the command of his passions, in 
the hour of success, he triumphed over viftory herself; and he 
rose from defeat, only to inspire neAv confidence, and seize on 
glorious reparation. 

In his ofncial dispatches, his veracity and his modest}'-, were 

equally conspicuous : He thought it both vain and immoral 

to overrate his good fortune ; and even his losses he would not 
extenuate. 

He softened the horrors of war, by offices of humanity — by 
the respedl W'hich he shewed to civil authority — to personal im- 
munities — ^nd to private property. He repressed the spirit of 
popular fury — and shielded from its intemperance, those of his 
countrymen, who from sincere, but misguided opinions, persist- 
ed in a harmless neutrality. 

While he exafted discipline, he was incapable of cruelty? 
and, of his followers in arms, he demanded no pledge but fideli- 
ity, and exposed them to no hardships, in which he did not him- 
self participate. 

He was ever unwilling to fling away the lives of his brave, 

but humble companions, in rash adventure, or unequal conflidl . 

always preferring their safety and the hopes of his country, to 
his own renown. — He was content, rather to enjoy the blood- 
less triumphs of a Fabius, than by bold and sanguinary enter- 
prise, to grasp at the false and fatal glory of a Varro, 

And when, at length, the liberties of America were confirm- 
ed, and no longer required an armed protedor, he retired from 
the embraces of his faithful veterans, and amidst the acclama- 
tions of a grateful people, to the retreat from whence his coun- 
try had drawn him — there to possess the rank of a free citizen, 
the only title he aspired to ; and the love of his fellow-me-n, the 
only, and to ' im the sweetest reward, for all his services. 



223 WASHINGTONIANA. 

Legislators of America ! 
In the condiKTl and opinions of this great statesman, you pos- 
sess an institute of national policy, recommended by all the 
force of experience, and all the demonstration of success. 

In that high office, which for eight years he filled with such' 
dignity and ability, he exerted his extensive influence, and his 
legitimate powers, to consolidate the confederacy, and give 
un ty to the general government ; firmly convinced, however 
social interests might suffer temporary loss, and the pride of 
petty sovereignty revolt at imaginary humiliation, that the du- 
ration of the American empire, and the real happiness of her 
people, must depend on the coftstitutional pursuit, and exten- 
sion of this cardinal policy. 

In that memorable address to his countrymen, on his retire- 
ment from office, he enforces this sentiment wiih repeated and 
emphatic expressions of its importance : — " This unity (says he) 
*' is a main pillar in the edifice of your real independence ; the 
*' support of your tranquility at home ; of your peace abroad ; 
" of your safety ; of your prosperity ; of that very liberty, 
" which you so highly prize." 

The preservation of ^^ public fatb^'" he j^resses upon you, by 
every motive of interest and honor — and as the source of public 
■wealth, and a guarantee of the republic itself. 

With that spirit of moderation, and redlitude, which ever 
governed his own conduct, he Invites you to the obfervation of 
good faith and justice to all nations ; to avoid inveterate antipa- 
thies, and passionate resentments ; and cautions you, against 
the weakness of confiding \n foreign protestations of national 
fraternity. — «' It is a folly," he says, " for one nation to look 
for disi nterested favors from another ; it is an illusion, 
which experience must cure, and which a just pride ought to 
discard." 

Against the arts of foreign intrigue, he warns you in the 
language of one who had encountered it in all its forms, and 



WASHINGTONIAN/.; 223 

saved his country a second ilme, from the subjugation which it 
threatened — His own words are too expressive not to be re- 
peated : — " Against the insidious wiles oi /oreign influence, I 
conjure you to believe me, my fellow-citizens, the jealousy of 
a free people ought to be constantly awake ; since history and 
experience prove, that foreign influence is one of the most bale- 
ful foes of republican government." 

Discarding a slothful and penurious policy, he tells you, 
*' That if you would avoid injury, you must be prepared to re- 
sent it;" and, "That timely disbursements to meef danger, 
frequently prevent much greater disbursements to repel it." 

Knowing that a government resting on popular suffrage, can 
exist only in the convidlion, which the people feel of its justice 
and its benefits, he enjoins it upon you to " enlighten'^ the pub- 
lic mind j and, by institutions for diffusing knowledge, to dis- 
sipate the gloom of simple error, and the sedu£lions of artful 
imposture. 

Legislators of the Union! listen to this advicC) before 
it becomes too late to profit from it. 

Had but a small portion of the treasure expended in crush- 
ing insurrection^ been applied to the dissemination of correal 
injbrmation, ambitious traitors could never have wrought up ig- 
norance into rebellion ; nor profligate calumniators plunged our 
country into desperate factions. 

How mistaken, and how dangerous, is that policy, which 
suffers four millions of people, jealous of their rights, prejudiced 
by local interests, and spread over a vast continent, to depend 
for their knowledge of public measures, upon the scandalous 
misrepresentations of inflamed partisans, and the daring for- 
geries of a licentious press! 

Taught by revelation, that " piety exalteth a nation ;" a 
witness to the abominations of " illuminated atheism," and the 
blasting influeuce, which it sheds over human happiness, he ha& 



224 WASHINGTONIANA. 

left with you his own great example and his last exhortation, 
as proofs, that he considered national prosperity only secure 
whilst it rested on the basis of national religion : — " In vain," 
he says, " can that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who 
■would labor to subvert religioii and morality — those great pil- 
lars of human happiness — these firmest' props of the duties of 
men and citizens." 

People of America I 
Let the advice of your greatest friend sink deep into your 
bosoms. 

Let not hireling presses — noisy and empty declamation- 
canting and.cunning demagogues, cheat you out of your peace, 
and real liberty. — These depend on the solidity of your govern- 
ment ; and that, in a generous confidence, and manly support, 
of those you appoint to administer it. 

Think that you hear him saying, — " This government, the 
offspring of your own choice, uninfluenced and unawed ; adopt- 
ed on full investigation and mature deliberation ; completely 
free in its principles ; in the distribution of its powers, uniting 
security with energy ; and containing within itself a provision 
for its own amenii-ment ; has a just claim, to your confidence 
and support. Respe£l for its authorities— compliance with its 
laws — acquiescence in its measures — are duties enjoined, by the 
fundamental maxims of true liberty. — All obstructions to the 
execution of the laws — all combinations, and associations, un- 
der whatever plausible character, with the real design to con- 
trol, counteraft, or awe, the constituted authorities, are 
destru£live of your constitution, and of fatal tendency." 

In what feeling accents, does he implore you to bury the ani- 
mosities of party — to destroy the monster, fadlion — and to dis- 
card the spirit of jealousy, which, by an unnatural direction, 
urges you to distrust authorities of your own creation, and de- 
pendent on your own will. 

Every aft of this government, has come from the hands of 
of your chosen represnutives, equally concerned with you in 



WASHINGTONIANA. 225 

the welfare of their common country ; and every aft from its 
commencement, has received the official sandlin of your 
Washington, or, of his no less illustrious successor, A- 

DAMS. 

Those, who would array your jealousy against the repre- 
sentatives of the union, are alike insolent and cruel. — They dis- 
honor the principles of a republic — and they offer you no sub- 
stitute better entitled to your adoption and support. 

Mr countrymen ! the example of Washington, is equally 
instrudlive, whether seen in the splendid career of high employ- 
ments, or in the milder lights of retirement. 

Ke was not only content with, but he sighed for, the simple 
and unruffled pleasures of private station. — Although engaged 
in the most honorable and enviable situati )ns — admired, revered 
and beloved — yet in that last address, which he dedicates to 
you, he says, " I anticipate, with pleasing expe£lation, that 
retreaty in which I promise myself, without alloy, the sweet 
enjoyment of partaking, in the midst of my fellow-citizens, the 
benign influence of good laws under a free government — the 
ever favorite objeft of my heart, and the happy reward, as I 
trustj of our mutual cares, labors and dangers." 

Like him, let us be ready to serve the republic when she de- 
mands our services ; and, like him, think ourselves no less 
happy as private citizens — while we cherish the government, 
•which guards our independence, and obey the laws, which only 
can secure to us the blessings of social order. 

It Is thus that your Washington will yet live for his coun- 
try — to guide her councils — animate her warriors — and with his 
own spirit^ refine and warm the patriotism of all her citizens. 

Ah! how truly glorious is his memory — who, living, raised 
his country to honor and felicity— and dying, bequeathed his vir- 
tues for their preservation. 

F f 



225 washiKgtoniAna. 

Oration delivered at Old Torky on the death of George 
JVashington ; by the Rev. Roseivell Msssinger, pastor 
colleague tvitb the Rev. Ltman of the First Cburcb in Old 
Tork, Maine, 



HE sun In the firmament is not darkened ! The foundations 
of the earth do not tremble! Rocks have riot fallen to 



T 

dust ! the mountains have not melted away I Bat the veil of li- 
berty's temple is rent in twain. Her spotL^ss high-priest hath 
retired to rest, through the portals of everlasting fame. 

If our tongue were an angel's, it would falter ; if our hearts 
were marble, they would bleed ; if our eyes were flint they 
would swell with tears ; if the world were a Zembla, it would 
melt and mourn, for Washington is no more. 

Happy for the human race, his translation was not in a cha- 
riot of fire ; not by a visible convoy of angels ; not by the 
sound of the trump, but by the common, secret power of 
dissolution, -which silently sprinkles Its fatal dust on the body 
of man I Otherwise he might have been revered as a God. The 
globe might have bowed in the attitude of worship at the feet 
cf his likeness. 

O Time I Empires and kingdoms are thy sport. The be- 
•■wildered traveller of the desert, the prideful monarch of the 
throne ; conquerors who have led the world in chains ; philoso- 
phers who have scanned the heavens, and walked among the 
stars ; virtue's sacred train ; all, all have been numbered among 
thy trophies ; yet the greatest of thy spoils is the late Father 
of our country. But, O time, his memory will mock thy ra- 
vages : it will live in immortal bloom, " when death itself shall 
die." 

In a country whose climes are mild, whose features are love- 
Iv ; in America, our " Her Oj patriot ^ sage" was born in 1732, 
his life dawned on the fields of Virginia. There the sacred 
genii bathed his infant soul ia the lucid stream of thought ; there 



WASHINGTONIANA. 227 

the enraptured cherubs shed on his heart the ambrosial dews of 
innocence and love ; there the creative power planted the 
Eden of humanity in his bosom ; there said the holy 
Trinity, " wc will raise up a man, and fix upon him our 
own image, in a stamp, that shall never be effaced. These 
Mrere secrets only known to the visible world. For to human 
eyes he was no more than a child of common cby. But 
a few years began to reveal those gems of excellence that were 
to enamor a gazing universe. 

In the age of childhood, he was manly, frank and noble in 
his manners ; cautious, yet faithful in his attachments ; gene- 
rous in his heart, which knew no disguise ; he was attached to 
the truth, which he never sacrificed ; persevering in every lauda- 
ble atchievement ; his perception was quick, his fancy lively and 
bold ; but always obedient to his judgment — his words, though 
few, were " apples of gold in pi£lures of silver." Before he 
reached the years of youth, he possessed an assemblage of all 
the brilliant virtues, all the lovely sympathies, all the pious 
sentiments, that lay within the compass of human aspiration. 
He never trod the formal paths of science, within the walls of 
a college ; but, the fields of nature, books and mankind were all 
accessible to his exploring genius. Yea, his noble soul drank 
intelligence from the rivers of God. These are some feeble and 
scattered delineations of his early life. 

It was now time for his glory to rise on the public mind. 
While we were colonies, subjeft to Britain, and hostilities ob- 
tained between England and France, our hero entered the mar- 
tial field. As the shade of Braddock will testify, he then an- 
nounced talents that would have honored the Cscsars of anti- 
quity. He discovered a heart that would have given the laurels 
of Titus a brighter lustre I 

But it was In a later period, that his patriotism and love of 
liberty burst with their full effulgence on the world. It was in 
a later period, that the sons and daughters of Columbia leaned 
on his bosom, and called him " Father," 



228 WASHINGTONIANA. 

He longed to see that early destiny of Heaven accomplish- 
ed, that we should be " a world by ourselves." Though wc 
■were separated for this purpose from foreign nations by the 
waves of the sea, yet the dreary darkness of despotic night 
reigned on the face of our land. But the spirit of Washing- 
ton moved upon it. The first rays that betokened the resur- 
redlion of liberty, beamed from his luminous soul. Being aid- 
ed by the Adams and Franklin, he laid the foundation of the 
temple of our glory. 

This steady career of renown soon raised him to the head 
of the continental armies. Here, how illustrious, how deified, 
was the display of his abilities and heart ! He did not enter the 
field as the servile minion of a despot ; he did not lead a band 
of Catalines, plunderers and thieves ; he did not assume the ar- 
mor of battle, that lie might be able to boast how many thou- 
sand garments he had died in blood. But he fought and con- 
quered for the salvation of his country, and the good of the 
world. He resembled the condu£t of the holy God, whose na- 
ture is love, and who designeth for the good of his creatures, 
even when their sins oblige him to chastise them with scorpions. 

Loaded with the immaculate laurels of vi6\ory, under the 
grateful alleluia of millions, he retires from the toilsome scene 
of war. The nation said (for they felt it) he is the saviour of 
the west. He is the gift of Heaven, fame said, for it was 
true, he is greater than the greatest of men ; his arm is thun- 
der to oppressors ; the voice of his feet is an earthquake to ty- 
rants ; but his smiles are a heaven to the sons and daughters of 
liberty. 

The war was ended. Britain was humbled. Washington 
no longer wields the lightning of his power. He repairs, like 
the gentle shepherd to the shades of Vernon ; but not there to 
rest. By the voice of his country he is called to the presiden- 
tial chair. If we view him in this important office ; he is still 
on holy ground. His eye is still fastened on the flaming bush 
to receive counsel. Here his wisdom, his unyielding firmness 
and expansive patriotism, heightened the aiTe^ftion of his coun? 



WASHINGTONIANA. 229 

try. Every day in the cabinet poured lustre on those immortal 
monuinents of his fame, which his own deeds liad already con- 
struft?d. Though time consign to oblivion the acf^ions of the 
wise and gieat, yet it will breathe divinity on the life and con- 
du£l of our departed Sage. 

Ten years of unspotted life in this office had now elapsed. 
Without any uncommon admonition, he wa» conscious that sixty 
five revolving suns must neaHy have numbered his days. He 
asked an exemption from public cares. The enrapturing per- 
speftives of eternity rose before him, yet he had engraven his 
people on the palms of his hands. He did not forget us. He 
bid us an affedlionate farewell. His address is stamped in let- 
ters of gold on the rolls of unfading memory. Stoic eyes 
beheld him with tears, retiring, as was thought, for the last, 
to private life, and from thence to the bosom of God. The 
belligerent powers of Europe, however, soon drew our nation 
into a state of war. Wisdom did\ated the propriety of assum- 
ing a posture of defence. The voice of timidity cried " We 
have no millions to support a standing army ; no walls to defend 
our cities ; no fleets to secure our harbors." Adams looked on 
the noble Washington, and said, " O Washington I Thy 
sword is a standing army. Thy name is a wall of fire. Thy 
glory travels on the face of the deep." He appointed him com- 
mander of the Columbian troops. The appointment was accept- 
ed. Our country's eye sparkled with joy. The shadow of the 
sun had gone back on the dial. The hours of his public life 
were lengthened out. Our sage was ready to shed his venerable 
blood, that liberty might continue to value our land as a tem- 
ple meet for her dwelling. But he is now " removed to the ar- 
mies above." Our harp is turned to mourning, and our organ 
to the voice of them that weep. 

O MY countrymen and fellow-mourners ! do you realize your 
less ? If you did, you would not only discover the common tes- 
timonials of grief, but tears of blood would roll from your 
eyes. 

Ye who followed him into the field, who aided him in repuls- 
ing the cruel arm of foreign aggression, can ye believe that 



230 WASHINGTONIANA. 

your beloved general is dead ; that his body sleeps beneath the 
cold clay of the valley ? It cannot be forgotten. The Cyclops 
of a despotic court were forging with unblushing insolencei 
chains for our necks ; our land was infested with a plundering 
soldiery ; our shores began to be marked with the bloody foot- 
steps of the British dragon, when Washikgton, in the sight 
of your eyes, delivered his country from slavery, from desola-. 
tion and death. Did you not then think that he was almost an 
immortal ; and now can you believe he is no more I O painful 
sentence. I need more than lips of clay to pronounce it. Wash* 
INGTON is dead I The first of^men, the paragon of goodness 
is gone. How like an angel did he appear in youth ! In man- 
hood how did the emanations of the Deity sublime his soul ! 
A rarity in the list of mortals ; who could be told by an admir- 
ing, world, that he was a god, yet retained the meekness of 
a man? 

His heart was pure and friendly — his head clear, its counsel 
deep and lucid as the waters of Laplata. His firmness, like the 
poles of the earth, to be moved by nature's dissolution alone. His 
patriotism resembled the blaze of divine benevolence, uni^ 
formly benignant, universal in expansion, and without diminu- 
tion. Among all the stars of human glory, the steps of our 
sage were the milky-way ; that path in the heavens always to 
be distinguished by its superior lustre. 

Impressed with this important truth, that God was not par- 
tial to any particular se£t of christians ; he beheld them all with 
an eye of charity. He believed that the eleft would be ga- 
thered from all ranks and denominations of men. 

If, at any time, great and good men differed from him in po» 
litical opinion, it excited no animosity. He was ready to say, 
" I myself also am a man ; I am not omniscient ; I am not infalli- 
ble." If the disappointed and envious ever attempted to as- 
perse his character, they were soon compelled to silence; for 
this was the echo of their madness : " Feeble efforts, pitiful 
phrenzy. Sooner shall the wing of the transient insedt darken 
the face of day, than envy's pestilent tribe should tarnish the 
glory of Washington," 



WASHINGtONIANA, S31 

O, Adams ! thy grief must pierce the centre of thy heart. 
More momentous than ever are the cares that devolve upon thee. 
The prophet with whom thou hast walked hand and hand, is now 
departed. Receive the mantle of thy brother. If the waters 
of death threaten to flood our country, divide them as- 
sunder — bid them roll on the right and the left, till they are 
lost in the desert. God will make thee Columbia's second Sa- 
viour. 

Officers and army, oY whom the head is gone, every hftart* 
string must thrill with anguish, for the bereavement is sudden 
and great. What a noble pathos did the name of your general 
excite in the patriotic bosom ! How did you leap to the de- 
fence of your land, religion and liberty, when it was said, 
*' The venerable Washington leads the van." When ye be- 
held his ancient standard stamped with these Indelible letters, 
" No party spirit — we fight for ourselves and children ;" ye were 
all Americans. You spurned from your lips the cup, which 
contained the hemlock of foreign influence. But alas ! your 
hero is no more. Captains, officers and soldiers of the artillery 
in this place, do you hear this ? Washington is gone to rest ! O, 
V?e behold the emblems of sorrow planted on your countenance— 
your eyes grow big with grief.— Behold how you loved him ! 

Departed shade ! if it be permitted for spirits to visit 
these abodes of clay, may it delight thee still to preside over 
the army, that exulted in the light of thy counsel, and the as- 
sylum of thy presence. Pity them. Ah ! they weep to embalm 
thy memory with tears. If they must ever descend the field, 
inspire them with an honest indignation against the hostile ag- 
gressor ; ennoble them with courage and prudence ; let them be 
pure and virtuous in the camp, ready to be immolated on the 
Naming altar of battle, or to live in liberty and triumph. 

Both houses of congress, your vistation is deeply afflictive, 
your burden is great, the sense of your loss is poignant. You 
remember the matchless services he hath rendered to his coun- 
try ; for the glorious monuments of his martial deeds are before 
you. You remember him when he shoae like the orb of day 



232 WASHINGTONIANA. 

ill the cabinet. You will not forget the times when dangers and 
clouds have hovered around your heads ; when tempest of 
dispute hath raged ; when parties have met like angry clouds 
on the mountain, and thundered their vengeance from one to 
the other ; for then the noble Washington forbade the storm. 
He stretched "^ihe rainbow in the sky of debate, and there was 
a calm. He hath taught you how to love your country. He 
■was the archetype of prudence and public excellence. Imitate 
him as far as your powers will reach. Move with caution in the 
doubtful paths of opinion. Imbibe the truth. In the centre of 
light receive it. Refledl it again to cheer and gladden the heart 
of your fellow-mortals. Contend as much to secure the chastity, 
as to protratSl the life of liberty. 

Judge of this district. Judges and political officers of all 
ranks ; well may each of you say, " O, that my head were wa- 
ters, that mine eyes were a fountain of tears ;" for you mourn 
the best of friends, and the first of men. He duly appreciated 
your beneficial influence in the civil and judicial system — your 
importance with regard to the general good. He knew, that of 
many members, unequal in dignity, faithful in their appropriate 
spheres, a perfect body is composed. Be inspired by his exam- 
ple, and you will strengthen the filaments of society ; you will 
be guardians for the rights of individuals, as well as for thosa 
of the nation. 

Ministers of the gospel — A star has fallen from the firma- 
ment of the visible church. A great patron and influential 
advocate in the cause of religion is gone. As instruments in 
the hand of God, to mould the heart, to lead the human race 
to Christ, who opens the portals of eternal day, and bids his 
children welcome, he loved us. O may we repair to the cypress. 
Let the altars of Jesus be hung in sackcloth, for the gatesof 
Zion do mourn. Let all the sons and daughters of piety flock 
to his grave. In the midst of their grief, may they not forget 
that blood of sprinkling, which speaketh better things than the 
life of Washington. 



WASHINGTONIANA. 233 

Ye merchants, who command your vessels to bear away the 
surplus of our own produdions, and exchange them for the 
fruits of other climes. The honor and importance you sustain 
in the rank of citizens, the security you, afford to our rights 
and liberties, the renowned name you contribute to give us 
among the nations of the earth, were all realised by your ncble 
friend and deceased father. While you weep at his urn, listen 
to the voice of his spirit, which will always exclaim, " O citi- 
zens, carry the scale of righteousness in your right hand, the 
olive of peace in the left, and the love of your country engraven 
on your hearts. 

Ye, who cultivate the fruits of the earth ; he smiled as you 
subdued the shrub and the thorn ; he blessed every blade of 
wheat that grew in their stead. When he beheld you returning 
from the field with your golden sheaves, he was more pleased 
than to have seen you loaded with the glittering trophies of war 
and conquest. He disdained the thought that the sweat of your 
brow should become the price of the pleasures of vhe great. He 
strove to give you a peaceful residence under your own vine 
and fig-tree. But now he is gone. You will see him no more, 
only in his adlions, till the harvest of the world. 

In the immense group of mourners, there is one, whose atti- 
tude and whose features announce a deeper sorrow than all rhc 
rest. It is thou. Lady Washington. The voice of thy 
grief IS echoed back by a pensive sympathetic world : " My he- 
ro George is gone ! My hero George is gone I" Who among 
the queens of the earth have been blessed like thee ? Permit the 
waiting angel to wipe away thy tears. Let thy sighs bear to 
the heavens an incense of gratitude ; for if we may measure 
the length of life by enjoyment, and if enjoyment arise from 
the goodness of a consort, thou hast lived forever. 

Of all ranks and ages, he was the guardian and the friend. 
Though they said he was a God, he died as a man : let us not 
murmur, but rather wonder, that his great and immortal soul, 
should be contented to reside in a human form so long. 

Gg 



034. WASHINGTONIANA. 

Should Gothic darkness envelope the glebe ; should the 
stars of light rush together and dissolve, the tomb of Washing- 
ton .will stand defended by a visible glory. Pillars of fire ■will 
hover around it, ■when every monument of art shall be demo- 
lished. Angels -will innocently envy the renown of him who 
loved and saved his country ; who was commissioned to do the 
divine pleasure among tjie inhabitants of the earth ; and who 
is now orcUiined to set at the head of all the spirits of just men 
made perfect, in the realms of eternal joy. 



Oration upon the death of general GzoncB WashinctoN) 
delivered in the state-house at Trenton, By the rev, Sa- 
muel StANHOPE SMiTHf D. D, president of the college of 
Neiv-Jersey. 

GREAT GOD ! we adore thy sovereign providence, which 
hath smitten the father of his country, and left a nation 
in tears. 

My fellow-citizens ! your griefs are manly — they are ap- 
"■proved of heaven — you mourn a father. All America rrrbigies. 
her sighs with yours — foreign nations, admiring his achieve- 
ments and his virtues, will fhink that liberty has lost a proteftor 
among them — and even that great people from whom he wrest- 
ed our freedom and independence, forgetting that they have lost 
an empire by his wisdom and valor, will honor him with their 
griefs and their praises. 

His country is ercdling monuments and statues to his memo- 
ry. Brass and marble shall express his glory But brass and 

marble will decay, and the glory that is committed to them 
alone will perish. Eloquence and history shall rear to him more 
durable trophies. Historians shall immortalize their page with 
the name of Washington ; and future orators shall quote it 
with the names of Epaminondas, of Aristides and of Gate, 



WASHINGTONIANA. 235 

to illuminate their discourse, and to enforce, by great exam- 
ples, the virtues of a disinterested and heroic patriotism. But 
his most lasting, and most noble monument shall be the affec- 
tions of his countrymen, who will transmit their admiration of 
him as an increasing inheritance to their latest posterity. To 
testify the esteem, and to announce to the world,, the profound 
regrets of a grateful country, poets and orators, and the minis- 
ters of religion, have come forth to pronounce and re-echo his 
praises throughout all America. How sublime, and how singu- 
lar the glory ! Thus to receive the voluntary homage of a free 
and a great people — the homage of equals paid, not to pre-emi- 
nence of rank, but of virtue — not extorted by the command of 
power, but the unconstrained effusion of the heart ! I also, at 
your invitation, appear among them, with a zeal disproportioned 
tomy strength, to pay my feeble tribute to the memory of a 
man, deservedly so dear to every worthy and honest American. 
— ^But ah ! I feel, in the beginning, that my words are unable 
to reach the conceptions of my own mind, and that they must 
fall far below the ideas and emotions which already occupy yours.. 
One advantage, indeed, I may derive from hence, the only one 
that inability can yield, which is, that when I have bestowed on 
this illustrious citizen the highest-praises, I shall have the testi- 
mony of your hearts, that I have said even less than the truth' — 
fl ^Mr i-j^ .T shall have no need to have recourse to the base arts oiji*^ 
to praise the most modest of men, who spurned from him, while i 

living, all insincerity and adulation Oh ! if the occasion, 

and the presence of this numerous and enlightened assembly, 
could light up within me a spark of that eloquence which they 
are so well fitted to enkindle, and could raise above itself a ge- 
nius so far inferior to the subje£l, and the demands of public 
expeftation, with what noble ideas should I fill your minds ! 
What a warm impression would the recital of achievements, 
and the display of talents and virtues like his, make upon your 
hearts ! Certainly no hero, modern, or ancient, has ever offered 
to the orator a more illustrious or fertile subjeft of that elo- 
quence that is calculated to touch the heart, or to raise men 
to the heights of virtue by great examples. 



236 WASHINGTONIANA. 

In whom have ever shone -with more splendor the taknts of 
war, in creating an army ; in successfully maintaining- hiniself 
in the face of a superior enemy ; in inspiring with courage raw 
troops ; in attr.ching soldiers to order and their country in the 
midst of extreme hardships, and the injustice of their country 
itself; in seizing victories by an enterprising bravery, when 
enterprise was safe for the republic, or in conducing retreatg 
that gained him no less glory than vidlorles ; in vanquishing 
Iiis enemies by a firm undaunted courage, or consuming and 
wasting them away by a wise and noble patience ? Where can 
■we find a conqueror so humble, so disinterested, so devoted 
solely to his country — so serene, so sublime in adversity — so 
modest in the midst of triumphs — in dangers so intrepid and 
calm — and possessing such control over events by his prudence 
jind perseverance ? 

Other nations begin their eulogies of great men, by trac-r 
ing their birth to some royal house, or some noble family. 
This is the pr;;ise of slaves. Virti^e, talents, services, aie c-ur 
nobility. Wliat glory could he h<\ve derived from a noble pa- 
rentage, whose virtues would have added their chief splmdor 
to thrones ? Such adventitious and accidental distinclions might 
have lessened, but could not have augmented, that high and 
solid fame which he now possesses. '1 he name of Washington 
is surrounded with a lustre that eclipses that of kings : An"3 
not his smallest praise is, that it Is all his own — it is derived 
from the intrinsic worth and merit of the man — not a ray of 
it is borrowed — his father was a plain but virtuous citizen. 

Socrates believed that he was attended by a genius which 
often gave him counsel and irstruclion, and watched over liis 
safety — The genius (f Brutus abandoned him at the plains of 
Phi lippi ; but the guardian genius of our hero, which never 
fjrsook him, was that divine providence, which he always de- 
voutly ackr,o\\leJg."d, ?ni which seemed to preside over him 
•with a peculiar pudileftion from his birth, giving his mind that 
happy impulse and din(!\on, and combining those fortunate 
coincidences of events, which we have seen leading to success 
and fame in all the important scenes of his life. 



WASKINGTOKIANA. 237 

His first cclucation was direfted only to solid ar>d useful at- 
tainments. Mathematical science, which contributes, perltaps, 
mote than any other to strengthen the mind, and which is so 
jntimately connetf^ed with the military srt, was the earlie-st, 
and his favorite study. His exercises were manly and vigOr 
rous ; his constitution was ac\ive and strong ; his port noble 
and commanding ; his person graceful and majestic ; his coun- 
tenance expressive of that benignity, that honor, that grai'dcur 
of sentiment, that profound reflection, for which he w:'s dis- 
tinguished. B'iit these are vulgar praises. He had a mind 
capable of combining all the interests of his country ; a dis- 
cernment capable of penetrating and defeating all the dcsij^ns 
of its enemies, a heart capable of daring every danger in its 
defence. 

His dawn of life gave some auspicious presages of the splen- 
dor of its meridian. Scarcely had he attained his twentieth 
year, when he was employed by the government of Virginia, 
his native state, in an enterprise as hazardous, as it avhs ho- 
norable, which requiied all the prudence of age united with the 
vigor and fire of youth. The armies of France threatened to 
environ these states, tlien colonies of Great-Brirnin, and to en- 
close them in a chain of fortifications, from the Lakes to New- 
Orleans ; and they were artfully attaching to their own inte- 
rests, and exciting against us, tiic fury of the savage nations. 
Young Washington was charged to remonstrate with their 
commander, to penetrate their designs, to estimate their 4(jrce, 
to observe their works, and to conciliate, if possible, the affc-c- 
tions of the native tribes. In the discharge of this trust, vou 
see him, at an inclement season of the year, traverse the im- 
mense forest alone. Amidst incessant rains and snows, and 
over vast rivers, rendered almost impassible by ice, and sur- 
rounded with lurking parties of hostile savages, he pursues his 
course. When his horses are exhausted, he continues on foot 
bis dangerous and difficult route ; he observes every thino- with 
the eye of a warrior ; he marks out cites for fortresses ; he 
measures the fortres^t s of the enemy ; he displays a firmness of 
mind in the greatest dangers, a patience of fatigue in the 
greatest difficulties, and a colisummate address in the condudl 



23S WASHIGNTONIANA. 

of the wliolej that would have been "worthy the reputation of 
the oldest commanders ; and finally, executes an arduous com- 
mission in a manner that deserved and obtained universal ap- 
plause* At an agewhtn other youth are pursuing only plea- 
sures, and softening their minds and bodies by indulgence, he 
is already hardening himself for the toils and dangers of war — 
lie is pradlically studying mankind — and applying the science of 
liuclid and Vaaban, to the defence of his country. 

The war, which then menr,ced these infant settlements, soon 
began to rage. The brave but impetuous Braddocl: was com- 
riissioned to defend, in America, the honor, and the interests, 
of Britain. In all the pride of European discipline, and British 
valor, he despised an enemy who fought by stealth, and scorned 
the admonitions of Washington, who was only a youth, but 
%vho was a warrior by intuition, and who perceived, in a mo- 
ment, every change which that formidable art ought to assume 
from new circumstances. Surrounded in the forest by an ene- 
my invisible, but dreadful, his ranks cut down by a hidden fire, 
bis principal officers slain, and himself mortally wounded, amidst 
carnage and death, where valor was useless, and discipline only 
offered surer marks to the destruftive aim of the foe ; terror* 
and despair overwhelmed every heart. Then our hero, all calm 
and intrepid, and now left to pursue his own ideas, was seen on 
the spot, to change the whole order of battle. With his brave 
Virginians, he protedled the astonished battalions of Britain, 
covered them under the buckler of America, and in the name 
^f his country, saved those armies, whom in her defence, he 
was one d;iy to conquer. 'Jliey shouted him their deliverer ; 
and tlie shores of Europe and America re-echoed the applauses 
of the camp. 

But it was when America called him to the head of her ar- 
mies, in the long and bloody war which she was obliged to main- 
tain, in defence of her rights, and her existence, aga\nst that na- 
rion, become haughty and unjuit, that he displayed the full ex- 
tent, and Variety, of his genius. Britain had cherished her co- 
lonies in the new world, merely as instruments of commerce, 
till their growing 'prosperity rendered them at length an ob- 



WASHINGTONIANA. 2:59 

ieft, both of avarice and of ambition. Flushed with her tri- 
umphs, under the auspices of the great Chatham, and rcjefting^ 
after profiting by, the counsels of that sublime statesman, she 
bad already, in imagination, swallowed our treasures — divided 
our provinces among her princes — our cities and fields among her 
nobles — and destined our husbandmen to be tenants and laborers 
for her. America, roused to defend rights that were dearer to 
her than her existence, but unprepared to meet an attack v;hich 
she had not expelled from a parent nation, had nothing to op- 
pose to this formidable invasion, but her unconquerable love of 
liberty, her virtue and Washington* 

How unequal was the ccnfll£l between a young country, in the 
very infancy of her Improvements — possessing, as yet, only a few 
husbandmen scattered over, an unwieldly territory — nursed irt 
habits of veneration and obedience to her invader — without an 
organized government to condudl the necessary operations of her 
defence — destitute of clothing, of ammunition, and almost of 
arms, for her few soldiers- — and rendered still more in^potent by an 
-injudicious system of finance bottomed upon no funds-i-and, on 
the other hand, a mighty nation in the mjdst of her glory- 
grown old in vidlories — whose numerous and veteran armies had 
just humbled the first power in Europe — whose fleets covered and 
ruled the ocean — and who commanded, by her commerce, half 
the wealth of the world 1 If we counted only the resources of 
America, and the number of her troops, wcrjld we not pronounce 
that she was already vanquished ? But the talents of her leader 
were in the room of armies, and of treasures ; and his success 
undeniably ranks him among the greatest generals in the uni- 
verse. He had to compensate, by address, the defecl of energy 
in the government — to make personal influence supply the want 
of money*, and of almost every necessary for a camp — to ma- 
nage with skill the faprices of liberty itself, which are so often 
ruinous to its own interests — to conciliate to the service, men 
irritated by disappointment, and the injustice, though, perhaps, 
the necessary injustice, of their country — and to raise the cou- 
rage of those who were already subdued by want. You see him, 
at one time, patiently preparing the train of events for some 
g^eat effecl — at another, anticipating them by a bold and dec!- 



2-tO WASHINGTONIANA. 

sivc stroke. Sometimes he stoops upon vidlory like an eagle, 
and sametinies lie renders it sure by a prudent deliiy. He always 
rises tVoni deieat like a conqueror, and, in the end, obliges the 

enemy to abandon the post which they had seized. In 

all changes of fortune, he is serene, colle£led and sublime. 
Success Cannot elate him. No reverse can sink his courage, 
or s'uake his firnines. And you behold him with equal ad- 
miration, when compelled to retire, with the broken remains 
of iiis army, across the Jersies, as when he entered in triumph 
over the demolished fortifications of York, and, by one splen- 
did action, put a period to the war. 

The details pf his e:xploIts I leave to the historian. They 
will instruft the remotest ages. They are still recent in your 
memory. The children of America repeat them with enthusi- 
asm. Kis first acl was to expel the enemy from Boston, and 
to restore to the nation that important capital. Afterwards, 
when in the face of a thousand ships, and an immense army, he 
was obliged to retire before superior numbers from the open and 
defenceless city of Nev/-York, if, for a moment, ignorance and 
impatience impeached his courage, or his skill, the returning 
reflsdtion of his fellow-citizens approved his prudence, and ap- 
plauded his firmness. Conscious of doing what a patriotic gen- 
eral ought to do, he felt all the humiliation of unfounded cen- 
sure ; bnt he was willing to bear the folly, and the injuflice of 
his countrymen, for the salvation of his country. He was not 
among those frantic heroes, who, to gain the vain reputation 
of a thoughtless bravery, will hazard the safety of their coun- 
try itself. Though he loved glory, the interests of America 
■were dearer to him than his own fame. Her circumstances, at 
that moment, imperiously forbade him to risk the existence of 
his smalKarmy. His lofty soul was incapable of fear : he even 
seemed to acquire new energies at the approach of danger ; but 
a cool and comprehensive wisdom tempered the ardent impulses 
of his courage ; and he nov/ resolved, like a great general, to ex- 
pose nothing to hazard which he could defend by prudence, and 
not to force fortune where he was sure of gaining her by a wise 
delay. He retired before the enemy, always commanding their 
respect by his well chosen positions, till, having gained the farther 



WASHINGTONIANA. 241 

shore of the Delaware, he there arrested their progress, and 
there triumphantly turned the tide of the war. The place on 
which I stand is consecrated by his triumphs — your streets have 
flowed with hostile blood — here viftory first returned to his stan- 
dard, which, for a moment, she had abandoned. Trenton 1 
and Princeton ! names rendered dear to your country by 
exploits that will be forever combined with them in his- 
tory, on your plains hope was first rekindled in the bosom of 
America. 

Despondency had begun to seize the public mind. It was 
necessary to restore its vigor by some brilliant aclion ; aiid 
Washington, who, at one time, so prudently retired from dan- 
ger, was now determined to put all to hazard — he had been will- 
ing to survive misfortune only to retrieve it — he was now pre- 
pared to die, or resolved to conquer..- 1 see him, in the depth 

of winter, with an army, scarcely half clothed, and small in 
number, his mind laboring with some vast, and almost desperate 
purpose, struggling with the ice, and with the torrent, forcing 
his way across the Delaware. Supported by a few militia, brave 
but undisciplined, his circumstances were infinitely critical. An 
impassable river was now behind him, a superior enemy in 
front, separated from him only by a small ravine. The evening 
closed under a tremendous cannonade. Both armies, lighting 
their fires, and setting their guards, were waiting, in anxious 
suspense, the approach of the morning. The fate of America 
seemed to be staked on the event of one great and decisive bat- 
tle. Then the military talents of the American hero shone 
forth with new splendor, and revived, and fixed, the wavering 
confidence of his country. By one of those happy strokes of 
genius that distinguish only great generals, he broke all the plans 
of his foes, and rolled the waves of misfortune back upon 
themselves. In the night he passed unperceived the army in his 
front, attacked an important post in their rear, carried it sword 
in hand, and awakened them to a sense of all their danger, and 
their shame, by the sound of viclory from Princeton.— 
Princeton ! thy fields rendered sacred by the blood of Mer- 
Cer, and illustrious by the anions of Washington, shall be 



Hh 



242 WASHINGTONIANA. 

forever conneded in history with his glory — thy sons shall here- 
after vie with one another in eloquence and song, to celebrate 
his fame, and pointing to the spot where Washington triumph- 
ed, shall perceive their genius kindled with new fires, and from 
him derive, while they confer, immortality. 

The plan of the general was to hasten to Brunswick, and 
seize the enemy's arsenal, stores, and military chests, deposited 
there ; but his troops, harrassed and exhausted with incessant 
labors, marches and contti6ls, were unable to accomplish the 
grandeur of his views. The British commander, in the ut- 
most consternation, flew to their prote(f;iion. The American, with 
a wisdom worthy the celebrated dicSlator who saved Rome, im- 
mediately occupied the hills that overlooked the strong position 
of the enemy, on the summits of which he hung like some dark 
and terrible cloud impregnated with thunder, and continually 
threatening to burst upon them.* He straitens their quarters— . 
he drives in their posts — he cuts off their parties — he reani- 
mates the courage of the militia of New- Jersey ; and, by prac- 
tising them in daily combats, renders them at length, under the 
condud of a few gallant officers, worthy to fight by the side of 
veterans — he expels the enemy from a state which they had so 
cruelly ravaged. 

By the aid of their navy, they were enabled rapidly to trans- 
port themselves to the greatest distances ; and the American 
general was obliged to be ready to meet them at every point. He 
met them on the Brandywine, where the timidity, or the treach- 
ery of the men employed to bring him intelligence of their 
movements, defeated on. of the wisest and most brilliant plans 
of the war, which would probably have put in his possession 
their artillery, their baggage, and their whole camp.f But 

♦ The image ivbicb Hannibal applied to Fabius, 

t '^k^ intention of the general was, to permit the enemy to 
cross the Brandywine above bim, and, while tbey imagined tbey 
were taking bim injlank, to pucb forward bis main body, and 
surprise their camp on the ether side of tbe rivtr, which would 



WASHINGTONIANA. 243 

Heaven had resolved to protradl their fate ; and they entered 
the capital of Pennsylvania. 

While encamped at the Valley forge under every disadvan- 
tage to which a commander could be subjeft, and suiFering the 
most cruel negledl, not to say injustice of his country, he sur- 
prised a division of their army on the heights of Germantown, 
and in the moment that victory was declaring for his arms, and 
their routed legions were fleeing in every diredion, a voice, a 
whisper, one of those invisible and unaccountable accidents 
which so frequently decide the fate of battles, wrested the prize 
out of his hands. But his unconquerable energy, his infinite 
resources in misfortune, robbed them of all the fruits of their 
success. They dared no longer venture out of their entrench- 
ments, and he held them enchained in Philadelphia. 

The generals of Britain, contending in vain against the inde- 
fatigable courage, and the inexhaustible resources of the Ame- 
rican hero, who, though at the head of a feeble and ill-appoint- 
ed army, was often vidlorious, and who reaped even from defeat 
the fruits of vidlory, resolved to abandon to him Pennsylvania, 
as they had before yielded New-Jersey. 

Then you saw him on the burning plains of Monmouth, ral- 
lying his broken van, and leading it onto anew charge ; expos- 
ing himself like a common soldier, present in every place almost 
at the same moment ; and while men were fainting, and dying in 
their ranks with fatigue, and heat, and thirst, refusing to rest, 
or to taste refreshment till vidory gave him a right to repose. 

have cut off their retreat, end been probably follo'wed by their 
total ruin. His runners, whether intimidated, or corrupted, 
persisted to assure binit in the most solemn manner, that the 
British Jorce.s had not crossed in the places inhere he certainly 
expected them, and deceived him with regard to their real move~ 
ments, till it was too late to execute his design. He was com~ 
pelled to retreat. And a few days afterwards, when he offered 
them battle again in the Great-Valley the elements fought 
(igainst him A 



244 WASHINGTONIANA. 

With pleasure I see in this assembly your rxcELLEycY,* 
and so many other brave officers, who were there -witnessfs of 
his glory, and who bore no small share in the dangers, and the 
honors of that memorable day. 

The twenty-ninth June gave rest to the northern states ; 
and Britain, despairing to be able to contend with Washing- 
ton, determined to bend all her force against the south. But 
there she met the wise aid gallant Greene, who was worthy 
to be the brother of Washington. Greene was cutting ofF 
her garrisons, and her armies in detail. But her main army, 
under the conduft of the bravest and most enterprising of her 
generals, was still reserved to adorn the triumphs of the first 
hero of America. 

Historians aviU relate with what admirable combination 
he formed the plan, and concerted its execution, with an ally 
separated from him by more than a thousand leagues, for sur- 
prising and entangling in his toils his adive foe — with what 
address he diverted the attention of the British commanders— 
and how, after a march of four hundred miles, he had so a- 
mused and blinded them, that he still found his enemy in the 
place where he determined to seize him. America will fore- 
ver record that happy day In which her vidorlous chief saw 
Britain laying her last standards at his feet. I seem to partici- 
pate with him that generous exultation, that noble triumph of 
soul, which, in this moment, he felt. Not that he was capa- 
ble, with unmanly insolence, of exulting over a prostrate ene- 
my, but he saw, In their fall, the salvation of his country. 
On the ruins of York he laid the Immortal base of the re- 
public. How delicious ! How sublime was the moment ! Bri- 
tain was humbled* — .America was delivered and avenged. 

* Governor Howell, ivho followed the bier as chief mourner* 

t Such expressions as this cannot reasonbly be supposed to 
be intended to cherish national prejudices, or to inflame nation- 
al antipathies* They are used by the writers of every country 
in celebrating their eminent statesmen^ and their heroes. The^ 



WASHINGTONJANA. 245 

The war terminated, PEACE restored, and tlie liberties of a 
new world established on the firmest foundations, the concluding 
scene was the most august and interesting that the history of 

nations has, perhaps, ever presented. Other conquerors 

have considered viftory as the mean of grasping unlawful pow- 
er. — The soul of Washington was more sublime. — He regarded 
in his viflories only the peace and happiness of a great nation. 
A fine morality tempered and reigned in the midst of his heroic 
qualities. The characfler of a patriot, he consideied as superior 
to that of a hero ; and tobea renowned warrior was less in his es- 
teem, than to be a good man. He hastens, therefore, to the 
seat of congress, to resign into the hands of the fathers of his 
country, the powers with which they had invested him, and 
which he had so nobly employed in its defence. — August specla- 
cle ! Illustrious chief ! He was so far elevated above the rest 
of mankind, that no way was left for him to become greater 
but by humbling himself. The hero enters the hall surrounded 
with all his virtues, his services, and his glories, of which no 
one but himself seemed to be unconscious. This awful assem- 
bly received him as the founder, and the guardian, of the re- 
public. Every heart was big with emotion. Silently they 
retraced the scenes of afiiidlion and danger through which they 
had passed together — They recalled to mind the peace and free- 
dom purchased by his arm — They regarded with veneration 
that great man, who appeared more great and worthy of esteem 
in resigning, than he had done in gloriously using, his power. 
In an impressive speech he laid down all his public employments, 
and took of them an afFedionate leave. At the contemplation 
of such rare virtue, and moved at the recolle«Slion of so many in- 
teresting scenes, tears of admiration and gratitude burst from 
every eye. The hero, touched with the general emotion, 
wet his cheek with a manly tear, while he deposited his sword 
under the laws, which he had covered with his shield. 

indicate sensations that were natural and laivful on the occasion, 
but are afterwards forgotten in the relations of amity-, and com- 
mercial inlercourse. 



246 WASHINGTONIANA. 

Thk last acl of aspeftacle so afFefting was an a 61 of religion. 
Great example for legislators, rulers, warriors — for all who 
cither possess elevated stations, or who aim at high and solid 
fame ! In that august presence, he worships the Ruler of the 
Universe — he commends the interests of his dearest country 
to the protedion of Almighty God — and there, in the temple 
of the laws, he offers to heaven the incense of a nation, from 

the altar of his own pure and noble heart. This done, he 

retires, amidst the vows, and prayers, and blessings, of a 
grateful and admiring country, to the peaceful shade of Vernon. 
Not like those heroes who build their glory on the misery of the 
human race, and whose restless souls are forever tossed in the 
tempests of ambition, he sought only peace by war, and re- 
turned from its cruel and bloody fields with delight, to the first 
innocent employments of human nature. 



Let us contemplate him, a moment, in this ketirement, 
which he always chose with such predileftion when the service 
of his country would permit him to enjoy it. 

In private life he was as amiable, as virtuous, and as 
great, as he appeared sublime on the public theatre of the 
world. How many conquerors, renowned in history, have been 
great only while they afted a conspicuous part under the obser- 
vation of mankind! The soul, in such a situation, perceives 
an artificial elevation — it assumes the sentiments of virtue cor- 
responding to the grandeur of the objeds that surround it. In 
private, it subsides into itself ; and, in the ordinary details 
of life and condudl, the men, who seemed to be raised above 
others by the splendor of some rare occasions, now sink below 
them — they are degraded by their passions — those who were able 
to command armies, have lost the power of self-command— 
and when they are not heroes^ they are nothing. Washington, 
was always equal to himself. There was a dignity in the man- 
ner in which he performed the smallest things. A majesty 
surrounded him that seemed to humble those who approached 
him, at the same time that there was a benignity in his man- 



WASHINGTONIANA. 147 

ners that invited their confidence and esteem, His virtues, al- 
ways elevated and splendid, shone only with a milder light by 
being placed in the vale of retirement. He was sincere, modest, 
upright, humane ; a friend of religion ; the idol of his neigh- 
bors as well as of his country ; magnificent in his hospitality, but 
plain in his manners, and simple in his equipage. And the motives 
of these virtues we are not to seek in a vain afFeftation of popula- 
rity which has often enabled the cunning and the artful to make 
great sacrifices to public opinion, but in the native impulse and 
goodness of his heart. — His emotions, naturally strong, and 
ardent, as they are, perhaps, in all great men, he had com- 
pletely subjefled to the controul of reason, and placed under the 
guard of such a vigilant prudence, that he never suffered him- 
self to be surprised by them. Philosophy and religion in his 
breast had obtained a noble triumph : and his first title to com- 
mand over others, was his perfeft commandof himself. Such a sub- 
lime idea had he formed of man, that in him you never detedl- 
ed any of the littlenesses of the passions. His consummate pru- 
dence, which was one of his most charadleristic qualities, and 
which never forsook him for a moment, contributed to fix the 
affeftions and the confidence of his fellow-citizens, which he had 
acquired by his talents. — Eminently distinguished for his conju- 
gal and domestic virtues, the perfe£l purity of his private mo- 
rals added not a little to that dignity of charafter in which he 
was superior to all men. There is a majesty in virtue, which 
commands the respeft, even of those who do not love it, and 
which gives to great talents their highest lustre. — Ah ! if the 
ambitious knew, or were willing to estimate its influence on 
reputation, and its powerful command over the minds of men, 
they would study to be virtuous from self-interest. 

Need I tell you, who know the terms on which he performed 
the greatest services that were ever rendered to a nation, how 
disinterested and noble was his nature ? How dear would not a 
mercenary man have sold bis toils, his dangers, and above all, 
bis successes ? What schemes of grandeur, and of power, 
would not an ambitious man have built upon the affedions 
of the people and the army ? The only wealth which he 
sought to draw from them, was the riches of his country— 



248 WASHINGTON! AN A. 

the only reward, the love cf his fellow-citizens, and the con-» 
scioasness of his own heart. 

His whole charadler was consistent. Equally Industrious 
■with his plough as with his sword, he esteemed idleness and inu- 
tility the greatest disgrace of man, whose powers attain perfec- 
tion only by constant and vigorous action, and who is placed 
by providence in so many social relations, only to do good. 
Every thing round him was marked with a dignified simplicity. 
While so many afFeft fastidiously to display their wealth in sump- 
tuous edifices, and splendid equipages, and incur infinitely 
more expense to be envied and hated, than would be sufficient 
to make themselves adored, 1:1s mansion was as modest as his 
heart. Strangers from all nations, who visited it, went, not to 
to admire a magnificent pile, but to gratify a noble curiosity in 
seeing the first man in the world. Palaces, and columns, and 
porticos, would have shrunk beside him, and scarcely have been 
seen. Like the imperial palace of Marcus Aurelius at Rome, 
the plain and modest walls resembled some august temple, which 
has no ornament but the Diety that inhabits it.* You approach- 
ed it with reference as the retreat of a hero, the venerable a- 
bode of all the virtues. He had no need to seek a false glo- 
ry by any exterior display of magnificence, who possessed such 
intrinsic worth and grandeur of soul. Every where he goes 
without any attendants but his virtues — he travel.^ without 
pomp ; but every one surrounds him, in imagination, with his 
vidoiles, his triumphs, his glorious toils, his public services. 
How sublime is this simplicity ! How superior to all the fastu- 
ous magn'ficence of luxury ! Thus he lived, discharging, with- 
out ostentation, all the civil, social, and domestic, offices of life 
— temperate in his desires — faithful to his duties — retiring from 
fame, which every where pursued him — living like a beneficent 
deity in the bosom of his family, its delight, and its glory. 

Amiable woman ! ?ole partner of his dearest pleasures, who 
enjoyed most intimately, and who best knew, his worth, your 

* A speech put by Mr. Thomas into the mouth of Apollonius 
a philcsGpher, and the friend of Marcus» 



WASHINGTONIANA. 249 

everwhelming griefs, the desolation of your heart, under this 
stroke, testify the preciousness of what you have lost. In the 
full tide of happiness, in a moment, in one terrible instant, more 
than empires has been ravished from your embrace. Oh ! if a 
nation's tears can yield you any consolation, the tears of a na- 
tion are mingled with yours. But, alas ! while they console, 
they remind you, by a new prodf, of the value of what heavea 
has taken — has taken, perhaps in mercy, that, when your Savior 
shall call also for you, earth may not have a rival to him in 
your heart. 

But, my fellow-citizens, among the noblest ornaments of this 
extraordinary man, "was his humility and his respeft for religion. 
Humility was the veil thro' which his virtues shone with a more 
amiable, because less dazzling, lustre. Never, in conversation, 
did you hear him mention those illustrious achievements, which 
had rendered his name so famous throughout the world. In read- 
ing his official letters, in which he is obliged by his duty to an- 
nounce his successes, you would hardly suppose that any part of 
them was to be ascribed to his valor, or his skill. You are even 
in doubt if fame herself has not mistaken in attributing to him 
such great adlions.* 

What a spirit of piety, what a constant acknowledgement of 
the agency and goodness of divine providence, breathes through 
all his public addresses to his army, to his fellow-citizens, to 
congress ! — Ah ! how difficult is it to receive the applause of na- 
tions with humility ! to be exalted almost to heaven on the voice 
of fame, and not to feel that elation of mind, which raises a 
mortal above the lowly place which every creature ought to hold 
in the presence of Almighty God ! Something there is in the 
command of armies, where one man wields the force of thou- 
sands, in the tumult of battles, in the splendor of triuniphs, 
that is apt to intoxicate the heart, and to elevate it beyond it- 
self. But this great general, after his vi<Slories, was always 
found modest and humble before the throne of the eternal. 
Like Moses, in the presence of God, he alone seemed not to be 

* Ti>is was said also of ibe Marshal Tureiuie, 

I i 



250 WASHINGTONIANA. 

conscious of the splendor that surrounded himself.* The same 
veneration fur religion, and the same profound respect for its in- 
stitutions, marked all his private deportment : And we have 
seen with what a serene and steady lustre his hopes from it shone 
in the concluding scene of life. 



The talents of this great citizen we have now to exhibit in a 
new light — as a legislator — and the civil chief of the 
American confederacy. — If it affords a subjedi less brilliant to 
the orator than his military career, it is not less instruftive to 
mankind. 

Scarcely had he begun to enjoy his beloved repose when the 
imbecility of that system, under which the states had originally 
confederated, discovered itself by so many pernicious conse- 
quences, destructive of national honor and prosperity, and dan- 
gerous to national existence, that it became necessary to frame 
a government invested with greater energy, more justly balanc- 
ed, and able to adl more dire£lly upon all parts of the Union. 
This necessity his penetrating judgment had long foreseen, while 
he was yet commander of the army, and the wisdom of giving 
a new form to the confederacy he had frequently urged. Ame- 
rica, always enlightened, and wise even in the midst of her er- 
rors, resolved, at length, to pursue this sage policy : And 
Washington, whose prowess in the field had so conspicuously 
contributed to establish her liberty, was the first among that 
band of patriots who met to render it secure by placing it under 
the protection of the most admirable laws. Here he displayed 
the talents of a great legislator, and proved himself to be as wise 
in council, as he had been glorious in arms. The excellence of 
that constitution which was the illustrious fruit of their labors, 
and which republican France, in repeated efforts, has, hitherto, 
vainly attempted to imitate, has now been confirmed by the hap- 
py experience of ten years. Public credit has been restored — 
industry has received a new spring — commercial enterpnze is ex- 

* Jb. Flecb. orais. funeb. Mar, Tur^ 



WASHINGTONIANA. 251 

tended to every spot npon the globe — agriculture flourishes- 
towns and cities are daily founded, extended, and beautified — 
population and riches increase — and even the debts of the revo- 
lutionary war are converted into a species of wealth. 

But, antecedently to that e-xperience which now justifies its 
wisdom, the name of Washington was necessary to give it au- 
thority, and to recommend it to the confidence of the Ameri- 
can people. By their unanimous voice, throughout a region of 
fifteen hundred miles in extent, he was called to hold the first 
magistracy in the confederated republic. — Merciful God ! what 
a felicity to my country, that this revered and beloved citizen 
was yet preserved to assume, Avith his firm and resolute hand, 
the helm of government in such a perilous and doubtful season 1 
Inestimable patriot ! who wast willing to put to risk a reputa- 
tion which it was believed, already above all addition, could on- 
ly be diminished by any change. Ah ! thy fellow-citizens were 
ignorant of the full extent of those talents which they have 
since beheld, with astonishment, as great in peace, as in war, 
in deliberation, as in execution — One of the noblest a£ls, in a 
life full of illustrious aftions, was the resolution to stake his 
unexampled fame, and to employ the whole force of his un- 
bounded popularity, to rescue his country from the degraded 
and imbecile state into which it had fallen under the old system, 
and to give an operation, and efficiency, that would overcome 
all opposition, to a government which he regarded as essentially 
connected with its prosperity and glory. 

On this high and untried office he entered with that modesty 
which is one criterion of great minds, and which marked his 
whole charafter through life — he executed it with that unshaken 
firmness which is the result of conscious reftitude, of ripe and 
wise deliberation, and of the imperious sentiment of duty in a 
virtuous heart. Less splendor and eclat, indeed, attend the re-, 
tired labors of the cabinet, than the march of armies, the cap- 
ture of towns, and the triumph of vidtories ; but often they re- 
quire talents of a superior kind, and often possess an influence 
more extensive on the felicity of nations, 



252 WASHINGTONJANA. 

Under his administration, the United States enjoyed prospe- 
rity and liappiness at home, and, by tlie energy of the govern- 
ment, regained, in the old world, that importance and reputa- 
tion which, by its weakness, they had lost. — Arduous was his 
task — innumerable were the difficulties he had to encounter, 
from the passions, the confllcling interests, the ambition, and 
the disappointment of men. His own virtue, and the confidence 
of the nation, supported him. And, amidst all the clamours 
which the violence of fudlion, or individual chagrin, have rais- 
ed against the general administration, none have ever dared to 
impeach the purity of his patriotism, or his incorruptible inte- 
grity. 

His retreat at Mount- Vernon, grown so dear to him by in- 
clination, by habit, and by that love of repose natural to ad- 
vancing years, he had forsaken only to serve the republic, and 
to give, to a new and untried government, a firm tone, and a 
steady operation. At the expiration of the first period of hii 
magistracy, therefore, he was desirous of returning to that pri- 
vate life which was dearer to him than all things else, except 
America. Ambition had no charms for him. His felicity was 
to see his country happy ; and his modesty led him to hope that 
her happiness might now be equally secure in pther hands. All 
true Americans, at this moment, resisted his inclinations with 
the most affeflionate importunity ; and he was persuaded to re- 
sume the arduous cares of the state. 

The crisis was important. An universal war raged in Eu- 
rope, and was carried on with the most rancorous and extermi- 
nating passions. The hostile nations, inflamed against each 
other with a fury beyond all former example, for they fought 
for their existence, would scarcely endure a neutral. America 
■xras, every moment, threatened, by force, or by intrigue, to be 
drawn into the vortex. Strong parties in her own bosom ren- 
dered the danger more imminent ; and it required a government 
firm, temperate, but inflexible, to prevent the evil. This great 
and heroic magistrate, charged with all her foreign relations, 
was not to be moved from her true interests. His objeft was 
America. And her interest, in the midst of this terrible con-i 



WASIIINGTONIANA. 2^3 

fl*i£l of nation', was to remain in peace. Faflion at home, and 
intrigue and menace from ai)road, endeavor to shake him — in 
vain — he remains serene and immovable in the storm that sur- 
rounds him. Foreign intrigue he defeats — foreign insolence he 
represses — domestic fiicTtion, dashing against him, breaks itself 
to pieces. He meets the injustice, indeed, both of Britain and 
of France, by negociation, rather than by a precipi.tate decla- 
ration of war ; but maintains towards them that firm and com- 
manding attitude which becomes the head of a free and great 
republic. He obliges them to respedl him ; and preserves the 
tranquility of his country. As an American, he knows no na- 
tion but as friends in peace, in war as enemies. Towards one 
he forgets ancient animosities when it is useless to remember 
them. Towards another he renounces a chimerical gratitude 
when it is claimed only to involve us in fruitless calamities ; 
perhaps, to put into their hands a dangerous empire over our 
own, and over other nations. 

And now, my countrymen, behold, in the prosperity that 
surrounds you, the happy effefts of this wise policy. See the 
desolated regions of Europe — compare their endless revolutions, 
their ferocious tyrannies, their murders, their massacres, their 
brutal violations of virgin honor, and conjugal fidelity, their 
■wasted plains, their plundered cities, with our peaceful and flou- 
rishing state ; and bless the memory of Washington, to whose 
prudence and magnanimity, shall I not say in spite of your- 
selves ? you owe it. Had not his firm patriotism, and his sa^e 
councils prevailed, what might not have been our present con- 
dition ? I tremble to imagine it. We might, by the audacity* 
of foreigners, have been stripped of the power of self-govern- 
ment — we might have looked only on pillaged towns, and a de- 
solate shore— we might have seen the sacred asylum of our fami- 
lies polluted with lust and murder — we might have been the prey 
of civil discord — we might, like the wretched inhabitants of 
Saint-Domingo, have been the dreadful viclims of domestic 

treason Unhappy the nation who permits a more powerful 

foreigner to obtain an ascendant in her councils 1 



254 WASHINGTONIANA. 

Let me not forget that, amidst his cares for our foreign re- 
lations, he chastised and repressed the inroads of the savage 
tribes upon our frontiers, by the arms of the gallant Wayne. 
And, -when rebellion dared to raise an impious front against the 
laws, he infused new energy into the government, by the promp- 
titude and decision with which he crushed it. 

To recapitulate, in one word, the events of an administra- 
tion as wise as it has been successful — public credit has been 
restored — public peace has "been preserved, notwithstanding the 
most powerful efforts to disturb it-^domestic fa£lion has been 
kept under control — foreign intrigue and insolence have been 
defeated and repressed — foreign nations have been compelled to 
respe£l the republic- — its power has been encreased — its resources 
have been multiplied — a savage war has been terminated — rebel- 
lion has been punished — the laws have been strengthened — and 
energy and stability have been infused into the government. 

With this wise statesman it was an Invariable principle of 
policy, that we can never be secure against the injustice of fo- 
reign nations while we do not possess the power of commanding 
respeft, and punishing aggression. Weak intreaties, pusillani- 
mous concessions, only invite indignities : For, unfortunately, 
power is right in the morality of republics as well as of kings. 
The defence of our commerce, therefore, the fortification of 
our ports, and the effedual organization of our military force, 
were objeds towards which he ever directed a solicitous atteur 
tion. 

Behold, then, this illustrious man, no less sublime as a 
statesman, than as a warrior ! His character is a constellation 
of all the greatest qualities that dignify or adorn human nature. 
The virtues and the talents which, in other instances, are divid- 
ed among many, are combined in him. 

Having rendered such invaluable services to the state, and 
accomplished every obje£t for which he had re-entered into pub- 
lic life, his desire to return to privacy and retirement could no 
longer be resisted. A second time he gave the world the great 



WASHINGTONIANA. 255 

an^ rare example of voluntarily descending from the first station 
in the universe, the hea^ of a free people, placed there by their 
unanimous suffrage, and continued there with a zeal only not 
idolatrous, to the rank of a phiin and simple citizen, obedient 
to those laws which ambition would have placed its glory in 
controlling. The pride of reigning he despised. Its labors he 
endured only for his country. And, whtn he could, he cast it 
from him as a bauble to which his soul was stiperior. 

On Mount- Vernon he enjoyed his family and his virtue ; but 
still prepared to sacrifice all his dearest predilt£\ions whenever 
his beloved country should demand his aid. Unfortunately, it 
was too soon required. The injustice of a foreign nation had 
compelled her to arm ; and he was coming forth to defend her 
under the shade of those laurels which he had gathered in her 

service. But the ruler of the Universe, the God of armies, 

had otherwise determined. — Ah 1 in what an eventful crisis of 
the world — in what a dubious and alarming moment for Ame- 
rica, hath she lost her hero ! — Great God 1 thy councils are in- 
scrutable ! 

He died as he had lived, with that serenity of mind, and that 
composed fortitude, which had ever distinguished his charafter. 
Death has no terrors to a pure soul which already derives its su- 
preme pleasures from virtue. There are ardent and impetuous 
spirits who can affront death in the field, who are not able to 
regard it with a calm and steady eye in the thoughtful scenes 
of retirement, and under the pressure of disease. The fire and 
tumult of battle transport them beyond themselves — honor im- 
pels them — and the observation of thousands imparts to the 
mind an artificial force. But, in the silent chamber, where no 
foreign impulse supports the heart, and it is not sustained by a 
consoling retrospect on life, they often shrink from the idea of 
dissolution, and of the destinies of eternity ; and those who 
seemed to be more than men in the terrible hour of conflift, have 
been seen to be less than men upon the bed of death. Our he- 
ro was the same in that moment as in all the past — magnani- 
mous, firm, confiding in the mercy, resigned to the will, of 
heaven^ Ah ! with what beauty does religion shine in the con- 



25G WASHINGTONIANA. 

cliidiiig scene of sugIi a life ! How precious the hope of iiTunor^ 

taiity in such a moment ! Rising on his own faith, and on 

the prayers of millions, to the throne of the eternal, he receives 
in heaven the reward of those illustrious services to his country, 
and to human nature, which could never be paid him upon earth.* 



Such in peace and in war, in private and in public life, was 
thctt illustrious man whom all America this day mourns, whom 
foreign nations lament, and whom the most distant time shall 
crown with cont^ ally new praises. If I have not been able 
to rise to the dignity of my subje(5l, I have, at least, endea- 
vored to 'scharge the office of a good citizen, in paying my 
homage to the departed father of his country. Other orators 
will rise to do him justice — history will preserve the remem- 
brance of his great qualities to the remotest ages — his memory 
will forever be his highest eulogy. 

The praise that is now paid to such distinguished merit can 
no longer be suspeiiled of adulation. The universal impulse of 
the nation diftates it — the first magistrate of America, the 
friend of Washington, in a stile worthy himself, and worthy his 
great co-patriot, has given the example of it f — the supreme 
legislature of the Union have decreed him the noblest ^nors — 
communities and individuals vie with one another in the testi- 
monies of their resped and veneration. It is a great republi- 
can duty to crown with honors and with eulogies pre-eminent 
merit, and. public services. Glory is the only reward which is 
worthy free states to bestow, or patriots to receive. All others, 
seizing on the principles of avarice, vanity, or pleasure, render 
the love of country only a secondary passion. The rewards of 
glory, to which sublime souls have always been devoted, still 

* AnsT^'er of congress to his speech oji resig7iin^ his office of 
(ommander in chief. 

t See the president's answer to the address of condolence pre^ 
s*i.tid by the senate. 



WASKINGTONIANA. 257 

leave our country to be the first obje£t in the heart. They are 
the homage which nations pay to superior virtue. Egypt, by 
her funeral panegyrics, first taught the world the influence of 
posthumous glory to create wise magistrates, illustrious heroes, 
and virtuous citizens. Greece, by the aid of her laurel and her 
ivy, of her statuaries and her painters, and above all, of her 
historians and her orators, rendered her citizens the admiration 
and the envy of the universe. Letters are more durable than 
marble. Long since, the monuments of Trajan and Agriccla 
have perished ; but the glory of the one, and the virtues of the 
other, shall exist forever, embalmed by the genius of Pliny and 
of Tacitus. Yet, brass and marble shall i\5|',be wanting^ to re- 
cord his fame. A monument, worthy a great nation, shall rise 
to him in the new capitol, that, like the capitol of /7ome, shtll 
be the centre of a universe of its own. Yield ! excellent lady ! 
who hast already known how to make so many sacrifices to thy 
country, yield to our solicitations his precious remains, that, 
laid at the foundation of those walls whence issue our laws, he" 
may still seem to be the support of the republic* 

Ah ! could I make my voice resound throughout the earth- 
could I support, by my genius, the grandeur of the subject, I 
would hold him out as a model to lawgivers, and to princes. 
Heroes who place a false glory in overturning the peace and 
liberties,of the world, should learn from him wherein true glory 
consisc;, and restrain their intemperate ambition. His adtions 
should instrudl the universe. 

Rulers of the new world ! imbibe his spirit! govern by his 
example! It is then only that our" tears for Wasliiii^ton can be 
dried up when we see his image revived in y u. The gr.ef that 
overwhelms us shall give place to the delicious tears of joy, 
Avhen we see, springing from his ashes, so many illustrious and 
virtuous citizens, the ornaments and defenders of their country. 

* Since the delivery of this discourse tve have been assured that 
Mrs. Washington has complied with the request nf congress. See 
her admirable letter to the president of the United States, 

Kk V . , 



258 WASHINGTONIANA. 

It is by imitating only, tliat you can truly honor him, and per- 
petuate the image of his virtues. Let statues and paintings ex- 
hibit his noble port, express his manly countenance, and convey 
to posterity the features of the man so honored, so beloved by 
his cotemporaries, and who, by future ages, will forever be 
ranked among the greatest benefactors of mankind. But, it is 
jiot by a lifeless mould, or the chisels of art — it is not by the 
produfts of the nuarry or the mine, that the soul of a patriot 
can be represented, but by his spirit, and his aftions, transmit- 
ted to posterity through a successson of wise, brave, and virtu- 
ous, legislators and heroes. 

I CANNOT forbear to remark the singular felicity of that ex- 
cellent citizen whose memory we honor by the obsequies of this 
day. The malignant attacks of envy, which elevation and me- 
rit only provoke, he has almost wholly escaped. If faftion has 
Ok sometimes ventured to rear her head, and shoot out her sting 
against him, abashed by his virtue, she has instantly shrunk 

back, and retired into her own coil. He has read his fame in 

the histories of his own, and of other nations — he has enjoyed 
the suiFrage of posterity — he has seen himself in that light in 
•which he shall be contemplated by the remotest periods of the 
-i^rorid — he has possessed ages of honor before his death. — Dy- 
ing, his felicity has still followed him. Has the history of na- 
tions ever exhibited such a scene of voluntary honors, of uni- 
versal afflidion, of sincere and mournful homage ? — Illustrious 
hero ! deign also to accept the unfeigned homage of our grief ! 

Friends of humanity and of liberty throughout the 

world ! it is for you to weep. Though America was the favor- 
ed land which gave him birth, and is therefore entitled to be the 
first in grief, yet he was born for the human race. 

While Washington lived, the people believed that their 
guardian angel was still among them. By the mysterious decree 
of heaven he is taken from their vows and hopes In a momen'. 
when the tempest, that has so long beat upon the old world, 
threatens more and more to extend its fury to the new. Al- 
mighty God 1 all events, and the hearts of all men, are in thy 
hands save us from the cruel designs of hostile nations, who 



WASHINGTONIANA. 259 

may now gather presumption from the death of him who was 
accustomed to humble them ! Save us from the curse of divid- 
ed councils, which his influence tended to unite ! Save us from 
the blind and intemperate rage of factious passions, which his 
presence has so often overawed ! Confirm among the people that 
union of sentiment, and that submission to the laws, which 
have been so long aided by the commanding ascendant of his 

genius I Our prayers are heard. Divine providence which 

prepares those great souls who are the defenders and saviors of 
nations, will continue the succession of them, while those na- 
tions continue to respe«!l religion and virtue — and, though Mo- 
ses be removed, Joshua shall be left. 

Finally, every thing serves to remind us of our departed 
and beloved chief, and to renew continually in our breasts the 
most grateful, along with the most affli£ling, recoUedlions. If 
the husbandman tills his lands, and calls them his own, have 
they not been gained by his wisdom and valor ? Do we enjoy 
our hearths, and our altars, in peace ? Have they not been pur- 
chased by his toils, and his dangers ? There is not a village, 
not a field, not a stream which he has not stained with the 
blood of our enemies,* or where he has not inscribed on the 
earth with his sword the charafters of American liberty. — Ah ! 
by how many dear and tender ties does he hold possession of our 
hearts ! Wives and mothers think they have lost him who pre- 
served to them their husbands and their infants — the young 
think they have lost in him a father — fathers that they have 
lost more than their children — the republic that she has lost 
her founder, and her savior — every citizen fears lest the peace, 
the union, the glory of America, is entombed with him. — No 
my fellow-citizens ! This fear shall not be realized. Wash- 
ington, though dead, is not lost. His ashes shall defend the 
republic that contains them — the capitol, that rests upon his re- 
mains shall be immortal — his example shall live to instruct pos- 
terity — his virtues shall descend as a precious inheritance to fu- 
ture ages — the future lawgivers and rulers of America shall come 

* This is almost literally true of all the middle counties of 
New-Jersey, 



260 WASHINGTONIANA. 

to his tomb to reanimate their own virtues. And, if it be true 
that the wise and good, amidst the supreme felicities of their 
celestial existence, are still occupied with the cares, and some- 
times made the guardians, of that which was the dearest to 
them upon earth, O spirit of Washington I will not thy beloved 
country still be thy care ? 



Oration upon the death of general George Washington, de- 
livered by captain Samuel White,* of the Wth regiment, to 
the Union Brigade, consisting of the Wth, \2th and \3t& 
regiments, near Scotch Plains, New-'^ersey, 

Friends and fellonv-soldierSy 

THE honor of addressing you on this occasion was by me 
unsought for : whilst I acknowledge tlie compliment, I 
am ready to shrink from the responsibility of the task, and with 
extreme diffidence solicit, for a few moments, your attention and 
indulgence, while I attempt to discharge the important duty 
assigned me. 

To commemorate the birth, and pay a just tribute of respedt 
to the memory of our late illustrious and beloved commander ; 
and in obedience to the orders of the president of the United 
States, " to testify publicly our grief for the death of general 
George Washington ;" you are now assembled. This so often 
welcomed as the natal day of the greatest, and the best of men, 
since the establishment of American Independence, never before 
returned without gladdening every heart ;- — but, alas ! — how 
changed the scene ! The solemnity of our martial music, — ■ 
your pensive and deje£\ed countenances ; declare that it is not 
as usual the anniversary of festivity and joy, but a day of sad- 
ness and of melancholy. 

* Now senator of the United States^ 



WASHINGTON! AN A. 261 

I AM not conversant in the style of panegyric, and only aspire 
to address you in the pKiin, unvarnished language of a soldier. 
Our country at this moment presents the novel spectacle of an 
orphan republic, mourninf^ the loss of a departed father. — Wash- 
ington, the illustrious Washington — formed in the profusion of 
nature, and given to earth for universal good ; — in whom all 
worth and virtue were united ; so lately the living objed of 
your esteem and love, rests now in the silent tomb, and has pas- 
sed from time to eternity — has exchanged for a state more con- 
genial to his exalced mind. In this exchange the great society 
of man has sustained a loss. To you, fellow-soldiers, and to 
your country, it seems almost irreparable. Were I here to in- 
dulge my feelings, I should pause, and leave to some abler friend 
the discharge of this arduous duty. To become the eulogist of 
a Washington requires a glow of fancy, a fertility of genius, an 
expanded range of thought, and powers of elocution that I am 
conscious I do not possess— language is too weak to do ample 
justice to his memory ; but I flatter myself his venerable shade 
will not revolt at the humble testimonies of a soldier's grief. 
Alike regretted by all, the soldier and the citizen unite to min- 
gle their sorrows together, and nobly vie with each other in the 
evidences of their aiFedtion. Wheresoever'your eyes are turned, 
whatever hour of your lives is retraced, presents you with some 
new remembrancer of Washington, your father and your friend. 
The freedom you enjoy ; the wisely constru6led fabrick of your 
government, are his lasting monuments of worth and patriotism. 

When the insolence of power, aided by proud ambition, pre- 
sented its hideous front ; when tame submission to the iron 
rod of despotism, or resistance, apparently desperate, was the 
only alternative, then flamed the patriot's spirit high. Wash- 
ington roused to vengeance by his country's wrongs, stood bold- 
ly forth the champion of her rights, and rendered to the cause 
of liberty the most essential service, in times of its greatest 
peril. In days that tried men's souls, when danger and death 
were at the door, and difficulties pressed on every side ; Wash- 
ington, born to command, to " ride in the whirlwind and diredl 
the storm," discovered to the astonished world, that in the 
wilds of America had been reared a hero, to eclipse in glory the 



262 WASHINGTON IAN A. 

Alexanders of Greece, the Cjesars of Rome and tlie Hamdens of 
Britain — unrivalled in talents, and equal to the mighty task of 
"Working the salvation of his country. 

Recur, my fellow-soldiers, to the w'.-.iter of 1776 ; an xra 
ever memorable in the annals of America ; when this state, nay 
the very site of this cantonment, was the theatre of his military 
honors ; when, from the summit of yonder lofty mountain* he 
often reconnoitered the position, and viewed the manoeuvres of 
the invading foe. This, fellow-soldiers, was the most trying 
time your country ever knew. The smothered flame of patriot- 
ism was near expiring ; dismay had seized some of the stoutest 
hearts, and a brave people, despairing of success, were ready 
to sink under increasing misfortunes and yield to their hard fate. 
Such, before the battle of Trenton, was the lowering aspcft of 
affairs ; when in one night the brave, the gallant Washington, 
ever vigilant and prompt at expedients in moments of the great- 
est adversity, — by his distinguished generalship, changed the 
•whole aspetSl of the war and rescued his country from impending 
ruin. By this success, and the train of vidlories that followed, 
and resulted from it, he cheered the drooping spirits of his coun- 
trymen and infused new life and vigor into the cause of liberty. 
I cite this only as the great crisis of the Avar : to recapitulate 
the splendid feats, the hard-fought battles and prominent ex- 
ploits of Washington, to you who know them, would be 
superfluous, and swell this address beyond its proper limits. 
Contending against superior force, experienced generals, and 
troops inured to the hardships of the field ; he surmount- 
ed every obstacle, triumphed over an enemy that had proud- 
ly affefted to despise his efforts, and settled permanently the 
liberties you now enjoy.— Heaven grant they may be sacred- 
ly guarded " and transmitted as pure as they have been given 1" 
Had this unfortunately been the period of his life ; had the 

* The cantonment mas immediately at the foot of the South- 
Mountain^ on the summit of nvhich is a rock called " Washington's 
JRock," from the circumstaiice of the GeneraVs frequently resort- 
ing there to view the enemy^ particularly during the battle of 
Short kills. 



WASHINGTONIANA. 253 

establishment of Ameriean independence terminated the brilliant 
career of this great man, even then would his glory have been 
conipleat ; and the transcendant fame of Washington, foiling 
the scythe of time itself, been sounded to latest posterity ; — but 
happily for yon, my fellow-soldiers, — for your country and for 
the world, he was preserved to still the tempest, and put in a 
train of constitutional execution, what heaven had so wisely 
planned : to moderate the licentious spirit of revolution, — to 
bring order out of confusion, and to teach man true and rational 
lil)erty — was the task assigned to him — a task worthy <.he noble 
instrument. 

When the great purposes of the revolution were accomplish- 
ed, — peace and tranquillity restored to our land, and every man 
could enjoy secure under his own vine and his own fig-tree the 
fruits of his labor ; "t'hen, and not till then, did Washington 
retire from the adlive scenes that had so long employed him, to 
seek, in the calm retreats of Mount-Vcrnon, and bosom of his 
family, rest from his toils. 

Then fellow-soldier?, was presented to the world an instance 
of unprecedented patriotism ; a vidorious general, the idol 
of his army — resigning unlimited power, and returning again 
into the mass of his fcllow-citizens — rewarded only for his in- 
valuable services, by the plaudits of his ov/n m,ind, and the bles- 
sings of his countrymen. But his day of retirement had not 
vet arrived ; his country again soon needed the auspicious care 
of a Washington. The constitution of these states, formed by 
the collefted wisdom of America, required his fostering hand 
to support, and guard its tottering infancy. To fill the presi- 
dential chair, and set in motion the vast machinery of a new 
and untried government, all hearts and voices were united in 
Washington. Called by the unanimous suffrages of his country- 
men, to this perilous and difHcult station ; his private interest, 
and all the blessings that fortune and domestic happiness could 
yield, when weighed against the wishes of his fellow-citizens, 
and welfare of his country, sunk, and were forgotten. Relin- 
quishing all other pursuits, he again embarked in the public ser- 
vice ; nobis jeopaidizing, for the ^public good, on the tempes- 



2 51 WASHINGTONIANA. 

tuous sea of politics, his unbounded popularity acquired in the 
field of aij.ii. 

AccoriPANY me for a moment, my fellow-soldiers, to the days 
of his administration ; they aie now passing into the abys;> of 
time ; but will forever be remembered. Had it not been for the 
wise policy, the foresight, and firmness of Washington, these 
states would now, no doubt, have been sharing in the miseries 
of Europe ; sunk in all the horrors of a revolution, and groan- 
ing under the calamities, that laid waste the fairest portion of 
the world. None but Washington, whose wisdom and virtue 
in the cabinet was equal to his bravery and conducl in the field, 
tould have averted the gathering storm. Ever constant and 
faithful in the service of his country ; unmoved by the tumults 
of iadion, or clamours of party, he sought, with undeviating 
bteps, the public gocd— supported the honor of the government — 
defended the constitution sacred from the jacobin's unhallowed 
touch, and preserved for you the freedom you now enjoy. When 
the sparks of liberty were kindling in France, and all Europe 
stood gazing in anxious expectation to behold the event ; Wash- 
ington was among the first to discover from thfc fury of the blaze, 
that, unless watched and guarded against, it would envelope the 
universe in flames. Hence his proclamation of neutrality, and 
the defensive measures of his administration that followed — 
measures planned with more than human wisdom. — measures that 
defied the proud ambitious views of England, and all the vile 
insidious arts of France. Equal to every emergency at once, 
whilst engaged in the great and national concerns of Europe, 
he enforced submission to the laws at home ; the hideous spedlrc 
of insurrection at his approach concealed its execrable head ; — 
the name of Washington a host — his very appearance reduced to 
order and obedience the deluded multitude, and compelled the 
■wretches who had seduced them from their duty, to sue for mer- 
cy at the feet of justice. 

At length, grown gray in the public service, he once more 
determined to seek, in the peaceful retreats of private life, the 
repose and comfort his declining years required. This was au 
cccasion, fellow-soldiers, you all remember, an occasion that 



WASHINGTONIANA. 26J 

interested the heart of every patriot, that touched the sensibi- 
lity of every honest American — the manner of his retiring- — his 
affedlionate farewell address to his fellow -citizens, endeared him 
still the more, and rendered the parting less supportable. But 
the day was fast approaching when he should again stretch forth 
the hand of assistance—his country had yet further claims upon 
his patriotism* 

When the wanton and continued aggressions of the F'rench 
tiation threatened to involve these states in a war, all exulted 
tliat we had yet a Washington ; and accustomed to view him as 
iin invincible chief, and sure defence, against every danger, he 
was again resorted to, and once more determined to unsheath 
his sword, and lead the armies of his country : you, my fellow- 
soldiers, are a pal't of those armies-^ — yes, you, though young, 
have had the honor of being commanded by the founder of your 
liberties, and father of your country. — Such was the greatest 
and ths best of men— such the illustrious Washington — such 
the man whose fame outstrips the fleeting winds : but he is now 
no more ;-^heaven has been pleased to terminate a life glorious 
beyond example, and useful as it was glorious. Here let me 
pause for a moment : view, my companions, the picture thus 
faintly colored, and imitate the grand original. 

Abe ye eager then, fellow-soldiers, to live In the voice and 
memory of men ? Be patriots. — Are ye ambitious to shine for- 
ever bright in the annals of fame ? Be patriots. Patriotism is 
the focal point where all the dazzling virtues center, and blaze 
•with unextlnguishable lustra. 

Is there a man so dead to the emotions of benevolence as not 
to feel a congratulating glow of soul when his country is crown- 
ed with success ? Is there a man, even in these degenerate days, 
■who does not in fancy hurl the Syllas, the Casars of the world, 
from their baneful pre-eminence ; to chastise minion time-serv- 
ing politicians ; designing, ambitious demagogues, or over- 
grown haughty despots ? When slavery clanks her chains — when 
danger threatens— when we are called together associated in arms 

H 



256 WASHINGTONIANA. 

fnr our country's good — " what bosom beats not In that coun- 
try's cause ?" Methhiks resentment and indignation would 
make the coward brave, and every man a patriot, — but not so, 
fellow-soldiers. 

Posterity will hardly credit the tale — posterity will incline 
to think it an historical fi£lion, or a legendary fable ; — but there 
are men at the present day ; — I speak it with grief, — with in- 
dignation I speak it ; — who, whilst the friends of this country- 
are endeavoring, by negociation, and measures of defence, to 
■ward off the threatened attacks of a foreign nation, and to pre- 
serve the independence of your country ; — use every means in 
their power to weaken the government — invite the insulting ene- 
my to adls of hostility, and seek to reduce this free people un- 
der a foreign yoke. Persons of such base and sordid spirits de- 
serve not to be freemen — they disgrace their privileges-^ 
they live despised ; happy could they die unknown. That we are 
and ought to be free, the voice of nature rings in our ears— 
that we can and shall live free depends solely upon ourselves : live 
patriots, my fellow-soldiers, and you will die freemen. For, 

" The man resolv'd and steady to his trust, 

" Inflexible to ill, and obstinately just, 

" May the rude rabble's insolence despise, 

<* Their senseless clamors, their tumultuous cries ; 

*' The tyrant's fierceness he beguiles, 

" And with superior greatness smiles. 

*' Not the rough whirlwind that deforms 

<' Adria's black gulph, and vexes it v/ith storms ; 

" The stubborn virtues of his scul can move ; 

" Not the red arm of angry Jove, 

" That hurls the thunder from the sky, 

*' And gives it rage to roar, and strength to fly. 

" Should the whole frame of nature round him break 

" In ruin and confusion hurl'd, 
*' He unconcern'd would hear the mighty crack, 

" And stand secure amidst a falling world." 



^1 

WASHINGTONIANA. '•67 



Address delivered at Greensburgb, itt Westmoreland county, in 
the state of Pennsylvania^ on the anniversary of the lirtb 
of the late illustrious hero, statesman and citizen^ Georce 
l/ASJii^icroK. By David M'Keehan, Esq, 

Fellow-citizens^ • 

THE twenty-second day of February, in the year 1732, on 
the anniversary of which we are now convened, has beeri 
distinguished in the annals of America, by giving birth to the first 
of men — the hero — the sage — the founder and savior of our na- 
tion, — the illustrious Washington. Who from his cradle ap- 
peared elevated above the common imperfections and weakness 
of humanity : with a mind clothed with solemnity and wisdom, 
and splendidly serene. Whose youth foretold a momentous cri- 
sis, and whose early manhood pointed to some great event, then 
veiled in future time and the will of heaven. The sublime gran- 
deur and majesty of whose form, illumined by his mighty soul, 
prognosticated the days of war and fields of fame. — Whose first 
martial deeds against a savage foe proclaim his valor, and whose 
prudence and firmness corre(Sl the errors, and retrieve the disas- 
ters of the experienced and renowned in arms. — Whose name 
early graces the historic page, and shines resplendent in the rolls 
of fame. 

Fitted equally for the cabinet and the field, when the awful 
crisis approaches, and the important work which providence had 
fore-ordained and sent him to atchieve ; when the liberty and 
safety of his native land is endangered ; when the powerful arm 
of oppression is stretched forth, he appears august in its coun- 
cils, and animates resistance. But the sAvord is unsheathed, and 

■who shall lead its sons ? None but Washington : to him all 

eyes are turned and confessed he stands his country's choice. 

V/iTH dignified diffidence and modest greatness he accepts 
the important trust ; and while he nobly rejeds all pecuniary 
compensation, stakes his life — his all in his country's cause- 
How shall we trace his mighty course ? What aftions shall we 



268 WASHINGTONIANA. 

seleft, where the least discernible, like the minutix of nature) 
equally display the power and wisdom of their author ? 

Shall we view him organizing and giving discipline to his 
untrained followers ; or follow him to the field where calm and 
vindaunted he stems the tide of battle ? Shall we view him when 
by his wisdom and prudence, he shields from the powerful foe 
his feeble force — contending with want, hunger, and nakedness 
»— -the frequent dissolution of his army- — with treachery and trea- 
son in his camp— harrassed with the applications, and vexed with 
the insolence and presumption of foreign adventurers ? — Or when 
distrust and want of confidence, so fatal both in war and peace, 
defeat those systems and check those operations, which his war- 
like genius and enlightened zeal had planned — and which, if pur- 
sued, would have saved much blood and treasure — shortened the 
•war — established our independence, and without the aid of fo- 
reign arms ? Shall we contemplate him in his tent, when after 
the toils, labors, and anxieties of the day, he employs the hours 
allotted to sleep, to instruft the national councils of America — 
to point out their errors, the perilous situation of his country, 
and the path to its true interest. Or, shall we behold him with 
his reduced army, when danger and despair had appalled the hearts 
of his countrymen, supporting a winter campaign, and during a 
nightly tempest, crossing the angry and congealing Delaware, 
and on the hostile shore, surprising, defeating, and spreading 
dismay in the ranks of the enemy- — restoring the hopes and cou- 
rage of the nation, and animating them to perseverance ? Or, 
shall we view him under the scorching beams of a summer's suq, 
on the burning plains of Monmouth — meeting the advancing 
foe, retrieving a disastrous retreat, defeating and pursuing their 
brave and intrepid legions ? — But who can rehearse his immor- 
tal deeds ? They are imprinted on the hearts of the people, and 
recorded in the annals of his country. He fought and conquer- 
ed ; and smiling peace returned to bless a new and rising en;- 
pire. 

Let us now see him after an eight year's war, during which 
with his brave brethren in arms, he had with unparallelled per- 
severance, contended with and surmounted the greatest dangers, 



WASHINGTONIANA. 269 

sufferings and discouragements, crowned with the wreaths of vic- 
tory and glory, afting alone, and with parental solicitude and 
affedlion, before he resigns that appointment which he held in 
the service of his country, making to the several states and the 
people of the Union, his then supposed, last and official com- 
jnunication, congratulating them on the glorious events, which 
heaven was pleased to produce in their favor ; offering, with 
candor and liberality, his sentiments respefting those important 
subjefts, which appeared to him intimately connedted with the 
tranquility of tlie United States ; taking his leave and giving 
his blessing to that country, in whose service he had spent the 
prime of his life ; for whose sake he had consumed so many 
anxious days and watchful nights ; dilating on the subjefts of 
their mutual felicitation ; pointing out the numerous advanta- 
ges, scenes for enterprise and resources of their country, then 
in the acknowledged possession of freedom and independence ; 
the conspicuous theatre on which they were called to z€t — desig- 
nated by providence for the display of human greatness and fe- 
licity. Reminding them of the happy conjuniSlure of times and 
circumstances, and the auspicious period at which our republic 
came into existence, and assumed its rank among the nations. 
That the foundation of our empire was not laid in the gloomy- 
age of ignorance and superstition ; but at an epocha, when the 
lights of mankind were better understood ^d more clearly de- 
fined than at any former period ; when the researches of the hu- 
jnan mind after social happiness, had been carried to a great ex- 
tent ; when the treasures of knowledge acquired by the labors 
of philosophers, sages, and legislators, through a long succes- 
sion of years Avere laid open for their use, and their colledled 
wisdom might be happily applied in the establishment of our 
forms of government — when the free cultivation of letters, the 
unbounded extension of comnerce, the progressive refinement 
of manners, the growing liberality of sentiment, and that above 
all, the pure and benign light of revelation, had a meliorating 
influence on mankind, and encreased the blessings of society. 
But that though such was their situation and such their prospers, 
and the cup of blesising thus reached out ; yet that there was an 
option still left, and that it was in their choice, and depended 
ppon their conduftj whether they would be respedable and pros- 



270 WASHINGTON! AN A. 

perous, or contemptible and miserable as a nation. That that 
was the time of their political probation — the moment when the 
eyes of the world were turned upon them — the moment to esta- 
blish or ruin their national charader forever — the favorable mo- 
ment to give such a tone to the federal government as v/culd en- 
able it to answer the ends of its institution — or that it might be 
the ill-fated moment for relaxing the powers of the Union, an- 
nihilating the cement of the confederation, and exposing them 
to become the sport of European politics, which might play one 
state against another, to prevent their growing importance, and 
to serve their own interested purposes ; that according to the 
system of policy the states should then adopt, tlicy would stand 
or full, and that it was still to be decided, whether the revolu- 
tion would ultimately be considered a blessing or a curse — a 
blessing or a curse not to that age alone, but that with their 
fate, the destiny of unborn millions would be involved. Im- 
pressing upon their minds that infallible truth, that there is a 
natural and necessary progression from the extreme of anarchy 
to the extreme of tyranny, and that arbitrary power is most ea- 
sily established on the ruins of liberty abused to licentiousness. 
Inculcating the necessity of supporting and preserving public 
credit ; of fulfilling the public engagements and public contradls 
■with p-ood faith — of observing and rendering complete justice to 
all the public creditors, and especially to the brave defenders of 
their country's cause : and with a heart always open to the suf- 
ferings of others, recommending to their warmest patronage, 
that meritorious classs of veterans, who, on account of their 
wounds and sufferings, claimed the support of their country.—. 
Impressing these and similar sentiments, as the legacy of one 
who had ardently wished on all occasions to be useful to his 
country, and who, even in the shade of retirement, \youId not 
fail to implore the divine benedidion. Concluding with his ear- 
nest prayer, that God would incline the hearts of the citizens to 
cuhivate a spirit of subbordination and obedience to govern- 
ment : to entertain a brotherly affedlion and love for one ano- 
ther, and particularly for their brethren who had served in the 
field — and finally, that he would most graciously be pleased to 
dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy and to demean them- 
selves, with that charity, humility, and pacific temper of mind 



WASHINGTONIANA. 271 

■which were the charafteristics of the divine author of onr bless- 
ed religion, and without an humble imitation of whose example 
in these thinjjs, they could never expedl to be a happy nation. 

Let us now accompany him in the affecting scene, when he 
comes to bid his brethren in arms, those whom he held most 
dear, an aftedionate — a long farewell. When with them he re- 
views the past, placing before them as the reward of their un- 
paralleled distresses, and consoling them for their sufferings— 
the recolIe(?iion of the uncommon scenes in Avhich they had been 
called to ad so glorious a part, and the astonishing events of 
which each had been a witness — the contemplation of the com- 
plete attainment of the objeft for which they had contended, 
and the singular interpositions of providence in their favor. Ex- 
ploring with them their future prospeds, and pointing out the 
road to happiness — advising the line of conuucl they ought to 
pursue — recommending, that with strong attachments to the 
Union, they would carry with them into civil society the most 
conciliatory dispositions ; that they would not prove them.selves 
less virtuous and useful citizens, than they had been persever- 
ing and victorious soldiers ; that their conduft should be tem- 
perate, conscious that their reputation was beyond the reach of 
malevolence ; that a consciousness of their atchieyements and 
fame should excite them to honorable adlions, under the persua- 
sion that the private virtues of ceconomy, prudence and indus- 
try would not be less amiable in civil life, than the more splen- 
did qualities of valor, perseverance and enterprise were in the 
field. Leaving it as his last injunction to every officer and eve- 
ry soldier to add his best endeavors to those of his fellow-citi- 
zens, to support the principles of the federal government, and 
to efFed the increase of the powers of the Union, on which our 
very existence as a nation depended, and without which the ho- 
nor, dignity, and justice of the nation would be lost forever. 

And while he acknowledges his obligations for the spirited and 
able assistance he had experienced in the performance of his ar- 
duous office, and professes his inviolable attachment and friend- 
ship, with a heart overflowing with tenderness, solicitude, and 
aiFeftion, offers his recommendations to their grateful country, 
and his prayer to the God of armies, that ample justice might be 



272 WASHINGTONIANA. 

done them here, and that the choicest of heaven's blessings 
both here and hereafter, might attend those who under the di- 
vine auspices, had secured innumerable blessings to others. 

Let us now behold him in the last scene of his official career, 
presenting himself before the august representation of America; 
again offering his congratulations for the great events which had 
taken place, again recommending to the favorable notice and 
patronage of congress, his brave followers in the field ; acknow- 
ledging his gratitude for the favorable interposition of provi- 
dence — commending the interests of his country to almighty 
God, and those who had the superintendance of them to his holy 
keeping — resigning into the hands of the supreme power of the 
Union, the commission of his important trust, bidding them an 
afFcdtionate farewel, and retiring into private life amidst the ap- 
plauses and blessings of his country. 

Mighty Chief ! illustrious Patriot 1 benevolent 

^AGE 1 

With such an example before them ; with such admonitions 
and such advice, strengthened by the soundest reasoning, and 
appreciated by such services and such virtues, who would have 
supposed that the people of America would not have adopted 
the wise and just policy which had been thus recommended ? 
But unfortunately, mankind must too often learn from experi- 
ence. The Americans sit down to " a costly and sumptuous 
banqujst, while unseen, the sword of destruction is suspended 
over their heads, supported by a single hair." The great and 
important objefts ; " an indissoluable union of the states under 
one federal head ; a sacred regard to public justice ; the adop- 
tion of a proper peace establishment ; the prevalence of that 
pacific and friendly disposition which would induce them to for- 
get their local prejudices and policies, to make those mutual 
concessions which would be requisite to the general prosperity, 
and in some instances to sacrifice their individual advantages to 
the interests of the community," so strongly and solemnly en- 
joined, are soon forgotten and neglected. — The voice of Wash- 
ington is lost amidst the empty clamor of noisy demagogues : a 



WASHINGTONIANA. 273 

timid and procrastinating policy is adopted — the resources of the 
Country cannot be called into operation — the fears and jealou- 
sies of the people are roused and kept awake by those who were 
preying upou the vitals of the country— -national faith is lost — 
public credit and the justice of the nation languish — the just 
demands of the patriotic creditors remain unsatisfied — the re- 
ward of the faithful and viftorious defenders of their country — 
the price of their toils, sufferings and blood, Continue undis- 
charged and depreciated — national bankruptcy and disunion 
threaten, with all the horrors of civil war, ths loss of liberty, 
and independence. 

At length on the brink of destruftion, they awake from 
their security, and see the impending danger, and while with 
silent astonishment they contemplate the dreadful abyss, they 
remember the words of their father, the voice of Washington, 
and the enlightened patriots of America is again heard. Again 
the retired sage comes forth, and at the head of an illustrious 
band of statesmen, digests and completes a form of govern- 
ment, the wonder and admiration, not only of the wise and 
enlightened legislators of our own nation, but of the civilized 
world. Again he retires to the shades of private life, and tiie 
proposed form of government, by the influence of his charader 
on the public mind, and the confidence reposed in his superior 
discernment, virtue, and integrity, is adopted and ratified, though 
opposed and assailed by the clamors of discontent, the positive 
and unrelenting obstinacy of ignorance, the fears of the timid, 
the arts of the unprincipled and interested, the presumptuous 
interference of fadlious and treacherous foreigners, the blasphe- 
my of calumny and slander, and all the rage of party zeal. 

But who shall be sele£led the chief magistrate of the Union, 
and at the head of the national councils, organize and give 
operation to that system which our American worthies had pro- 
duced ? Who shall retrieve the errors of negleil and inaftion, 
and heal the breaches which discord and fa£lion had made ? In 
whom can the people repose unbounded confidence in this inte- 
resting crisis I Again they give their united call, and again he 

M m 



274 WASHINGTONIANA. 

steps forth amidst the shouts of applause, the tears of gratitude 
and blessings of his country. Triumphal arches mark his course 
— crowns of laurel overhang his passage — the hoary patriot sa- 
lutes his approach — and choirs of white robed virgins sing his 
welcome and his praise. 

With paternal solicitude he enters upon the duties of his 
important trust — again spending many anxious days and watch- 
ful nights, to secure the permanent happiness of his country, 
until the mighty fabric of our political salvation, proteftion, 
and honor, is reared and completed — quells domestic fadlion 
and insurrection — overawes foreign intrigue — beats back from 
our shores the destruftive storm, which has threatened the an- 
nihilation of civilization — condudts his country in pe^ce through 
the awful tempest — and exhibits to an admiring world an admi- 
nistration worthy his wisdom, and his virtues. 

" Admonished by the encreasing weight of years," and 
anxious to entrust with his countrymen, the administration of 
their government : having again pointed out that conduft and 
policy which would lead it to honor, prosperity, and happiness 
— he who had exchainged the charafter of the soldier — of the 
heroic and virtuous general, for that of the plain industrious 
citizen — he who had with so much dignity, prudence and firm- 
ness, held the reins of administration and wielded the sword of 
justice, always temperate with mercy — to complete the charac- 
ter of unequalled worth and true greatness — resigns the chair of 
state, that he might by his example teach his fellow-citizens, 
what it was to be an obedient and faithful subjedt of the laws 
under a free and efficient government. May the angel of peace 
administer consolation and satisfadlion in his retirement, and 
may no inauspicious event disturb his felecity. 

The rights of the nation are violated ! Its honors insulted ! 
Its liberty and independence menaced ! — Tribute is demanded ! 
Its sons are roused and indignant ; they resolve to repel the un- 
provoked aggression. They gather round their chief, the wise, 
firm, and profound statesman, the worthy successor of their be- 
loved Waihington ; assure him of their approbation and confi- 



WASHINGTONIANA. 275 

dence, and their fixed resolution not to survive the honor, li- 
berty, and independence of their country. 

But where is the chief who now shall lead the patriotic 
band ? Why does the nation anxiously bend its looks toward 
Mount- Vernon ? Can they again venture to disturb the repose 
of their aged father in the shades of peace and domestic happi- 
ness J must he again " enter upon the boundless field of public 
aftion, incessant trouble and high responsibility ?" — Why does 
every face brighten with joy ? — Why those shouts of applause ? 

The venerable hero is already armed I The watchful citizen 
had observed the insiduous hostility of the foe, he joins in the 
sentiments of approbation and confidence, expressed by his 
country in the wise and prudent administration of our virtuous 
president, and accepts the command of its armies. His name 

is an host — the enemy offers peace. But behold his 

TOMB ! — And is Washington no more ! Is that arm of power 
—is that form of majesty ,< confined to " the narrow house I" Is 
that eye which bespoke virtue and benevolence, closed in death ! 
—Is that tongue from which flowed the words of truth and 
wisdom, silent in the grave ! — Has that heart which ever melt- 
ed at individual distress, and bled for his country's woes, ceased 
to beat I — Has the mighty fallen ! No : thanks to God, Wash- 
ington never fell. Like the resplendent orb of day, he has dis- 
appeared from our horizon, only to continue his course. With 
the same unshaken fortitude and equanimity, which he had dis- 
played in the cabinet and the field, he meets death ; with a firm 
and manly step, undaunted and serene he descends to the tomb,— 
divests himself of his mortality, that he may run an immortal 
course. Of him this world was unworthy — he has gone to ano- 
ther, and a much better — to the enjoyment of a more perfeft 
society. Let us remember his virtues — let us deplore our loss, 
and around his grave mingle ours, with a nation's tears. 

Let the fawning and tyrannic demagogue, elevated by false- 
hood and corruption, attempt to stop the full tide of feeling 
and heart-felt woe, " as inconsistent with the independence of 
freemen 1" But freemen taught by the noble impulse of their 



276 WASHINGTONIANA. 

own feelings, and the example of the good and virtuous of all 
nations, in all ages of the world, will not be restrained in pay- 
ing the full and grateful tribute to the memory of their great- 
est benefa£lor — their father — the father and savior of their coun-^ 
try. It is an offering pleasing to heaven. 

Though we have lost our renowned hero and illustrious states- 
man, he has left us his example and his works — they are an in- 
valuable legacy. He has left us in possession of liberty, inde- 
pendence, a free constitution and government, and cf that cer- 
tain and uniform system of administration, which alone can pre- 
serve that liberty, that independence and that constitution.-— 
He has left us the religion of our fathers. — '» The altars of God 
still remain." To that revolutionary, disorganizing and de- 
stroying system of policy reared by modern philosophy on the san- 
dy foundations of theory, speculation, infidelity, and insunedtion, 
supported by falsehood, blood and crimes, and in Avhich liberty 
is an empty name — he has opposed a system founded on the sure 
basis of experience, practice, and the true rights of man ; and 
supported by truth, the doflrlncs of the christian faith and mo- 
rality, and the pleasing and animating hope of immortality. 

This system of government and laws yet stands secure amidst 
the awful storm ; but how long it may thus stand, it would be 
presumption to anticipate. Who can be indifferent when he 
sees so powerful an opposition, as that, Avhich failing openly and 
direftly to overthrow our constitution, is now supping its foun- 
dation by weakening the confidence of the people in its wise and 
regular administration ? Or when lie sees the uninformed invit- 
ed by enthusiasts and ignorant demagogues, to decide with po- 
sitive confidence on a whole system of laws, which they have 
never read ; and upon a system of administration, where a Wash- 
ington and an Adams Avould hesitate ? But 

" Fools rush in where Angels fear to tread." 

When I see alien incendiaries and foreign traitors foremost 
in that opposition, I must doubt the justness of its cause. And 
\yben I hear the loudest cry in favor cf liberty, the rights of 



WASHINGTONIANA. 277 

man, and plain republicanism coming from the superb palaces 
of southern aristocracy, swelled with the sounid of the lash, and 
the tears, blood, and groans of their thousand slaves, I must 
euspedl its sincerity. The daring advocates of the revolutiona- 
ry, — <= tempestuous"* and infidel liberty of the present day, a'c 
vigilant and indefatigable. To me our prospe£ls appear dark ; 
and perhaps it may only be necessary to exchange our christian 
chief magistrate for an infidel president, for the completion of 
their plans, and to efFecl the destruiflion of our religion, govern- 
ment, and union, plunge the nation into civil war and deluge it 
with blood. Pause, my fellow-citizens, before you make the 
awful trial, and contemplate the prospedt. , Beware of experi- 
ments which wiH be purchased with blood, lest it may cry to 
heaven. Consider what will be your situation when you have 
run your revolutionary career. When, pursuing those princi- 
ples, which you are invited to adopt, you have overthrown your 
government ; — when the justice and faith of the nation are 
lost ; — when your hands have been imbrued in the best blood of 
tlie nation ;— when you have seen the hoary veteran, who had' 
fought at the side of Washington in defence of your liberty, 
and in purcha<!ing your independence, after again attempting to 
save his country, flying for refuge, when his aged arm had fail- 
ed, to the tomb of his beloved chief, and strewing it with his 
silvered hairs, while the streams of life follow the assassin's 
stab ; " when you have unplumed the dead for means to de- 
stroy the living ;" when the sacred obligation of oaths has fail- 
ed ; when you have abolished your sabbath ; when you have 
renounced Moses and the prophets, and denied the divine author 

* 3Ir. yefferson in bis letter to Mazzei seems much dissatisji- 
ed with the people of yimerica, for not embarking' on what he 
calls " the tempestuous sea of liberty." The tempestuous sea 
of liberty ! And has liberty ceased to be the companion of order, 
religion, peace, security, regular government, and social hap- 
piness ? But why do we ask the question ? Let us turn our eyes 
to France^ where we will see the jacobin system of goverjiment 
in full operation ; founded on irrational reason, infidel religion, 
ferocious humanity, and producing revolutionary security, and 
tempestuous liberty ! 



278 WASHINGTONIANA. 

of our blessed religion ; -when you have proclaimed, that " there 
is no God, but the reason of man ; that death is an eternal 
sleep ;" and in your rage, have demolished and prophaned your 
temples, and thrown down your altars ; when you have perform- 
ed and witnessed these ; and though your hearts hate become 
as cold and malignant, as the principle of evil ; yet you may 
again feel the stings of conscience, and like the founders of in- 
fidel republicanism in France, when led to the slaughter by 
friends of liberty and republicanism, if possible, more bloody 
and ferocious than themselves, may believe that there is an here- 
after, and may then repent that the precepts of Washington 
were rejefted.* 

Youth of America — natives of the land consecrated by his 
birth, I invite you to the grave of your father, and there, as 
if warned and animated by his spirit, let us pledge ourselves to 
preserve the honor, liberty, and independence of our country. 
Time has long since, been consigning the venerable founders 
and defenders of our nation, " to that bourne from whence no 

traveller returns." At length our arm of war and oracle in 

peace is gone. The eyes of the world are fixed upon us. Let 
us not suffer ourselves to be robbed of our birth-right; but let 
ns possess and defend the rich inheritance of our fathers. Let 
us beware of trusting our country and our dearest interests to 
the cold and alien government of strangers ; to the guardian- 
ship of the men of the world—those unsocial, ungregarious, 
and ferocious monsters, who learn our accents that they may 
more easily devour.f Will America's son want virtue ? Will 

* It is said that a very interesting conversation took place 
amorg the leaders of the Brissotine faction^ on their ivaj to the 
Guillotine, respecting the irnraortalitji of the soul, 

t It would he doing great itijustice to rank all foreigners in 
the same class ; for though they must all want that superior 
attachment which every man, who is wot thy of the name, feels 
for his native land ; yet many of them possess those amiable 
qualities and virtues which will in a great degree compensate 
for that want, and which will render them useful citizens and 



WASHINGTONIANA. 279 

not his arm when called forth to defend his rative land, be 
doubly nerved ? Will not the presence and contemplation of the 
place of his birth — the enchanting scenery of his youthful joys 

the temples and sepulchres of his fathers render him more 

amiable and humane, and inspire him with fortitude ? — Let us 
be united and imitate the example of him whose loss we this 
day deplore, and our liberty will be secure. 

Ye aged and respe£led matrons, accompany your sister to the 
grave of her honored, affectionate, and valiant husband ; soothe 
her anguish ; mingle your tears and speak consolation to her 

woes. .Daughters of America, repair to Mount- Vernon : 

youthful innocence enter the house of mourning ; and while you 
join in paying the grateful tribute to the memory of your friend, 
your father, and proteclor, learn from the example of her, who 
parted from him in life that he might serve his country ; and 
now at its call consents to a separation in the tomb. — Match- 
less VIRTUE ! — Amiable disintkrestedness ! 

Friends and fellow-citizens, attend to the advice and admo- 
nitions of your departed father — collect his precepts — let them 

obedient subjects of the laws of their adopted country. Sucb 
strongly participate in the affections of the Americans ; sucb 
tbey respect : of such they nvish to render their country tuorthy : 
—-This ivas the recommendation of the great WASHiNCfONy when 
president of the Union., to its legislature. But the most nume^ 
rous and dangerous class is that which is composed of modern 
philosophers and politicians^ ("and the ignorant of their coun" 
try men, whom they can mislead J men of the world who disavow 
all local attachment ; traitors to the country which they have left, 
and every where enemies of order and happiness ; who come to 
seize the reins of our government — to force our venerable and 
virtuous patriots from their places, and under the mask of an 
artificial character, deceive the people and insinuate themselves 
into our councils. Against such desperate and unprincipled ad- 
venturers, let all honest foreigners and Americans unite, strip 
them of their mask, and expose them to the detestation of man- 
kind. 



280 WASHINGTONIANA. 

be placed next the system of faith and religion -which has beefl 
handed down from your ancestors. — In this you will find the 
Avords of eternal life, and in both those maxims of truth, mo- 
rality, and policy, which will secure your individual, social, and 
national happiness. 

Let us support our constitution, our laws, and tiie adminis- 
tration of our amiable and enlightened chief magistrate. He 
■who never deceived has told us that ' it ought to inspire 
UNIVERSAL CONFIDENCE,' and while with reverence and an 
humble resignation, we submit to the late awful dispensation of 
providence ; and mingle our tears for the loss of the man " first 
in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his country- 
men," let us in his words pray " that God would incline the 
" hearts of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination 
" and obedience to government, to entertain a brotherly affec- 
" tion and love for one another, and that he would most graci- 
*' ously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mer- 
" cy, and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility, and 
" pacific temper of mind which were the charadleristics of the 
" divine author of our blessed religion, and without an humble 
" imitation of whose example in these things, we can never 
" expert to be a happy nation," 



Funeral oration on the death of general Geouge WjSHiNC'roK, 
delivered in the prcshyterian church of Carlisle, to a crowded 
assembly of the military and other citizens* By Robert 
Davidson, D. D. 

Friends and fcllctv-citizens, 

E are this day assembled, to pay funeral honors to the 
late beloved chief of tlic armies of America, — general 
George Washington. Tiie loss we have sustained by the 
decease of this illustrious man can best be estimated, by that 



WASHINGTONIANA. 281 

clcep sentiment of grief which penetrates all our citizens, from 
the president of the United States to the humblest peasant. 

Posterity will scarcely believe, that one man could have 
united in himself so many great and shining qualities, — could 
have been in every point of view so accomplished, — as to attra^H: 
the high admiration and unbounded confidence of all ranks and 
descriptions of men, during so long a period ; and while dis- 
charging the highest duties, and filling the highest stations to 
whcih -he could have been exalted. Early did he begin his ca- 
reer of glory ; and so remarkable were the first essays of his mi- 
litary genius, that a pious divine,* as if moved by a prophetic 
spirit, near half a century ago prcdidted, that his services would 
one day be highly important to his country. 

When these colonies found themselves aggrieved by the pa- 
rent state, and driven to arms in defence of their dearest 
rights, — the grand council of our nation, as if directed by some 
heavenly Impulse, unanimously appointed him to the command 
of their armies. Few and ill-provided were the troops committed 
to his care ; — arduous beyond expression was the task assigned 
him, to face the veteran, brave, and disciplined forces of Bri- 
tain, with a few thousand yeomanry, hastily collefted, and un- 
practised in the science of arms. What greatness of mind, 

what confidence In the justice of his cause, — what reliance on 
the God of armies, — were here displayed I At the head of a 

* Tbe Rev, Samuel Davies, sometime president of the college 
in Nev)-Jersey. The sentiment ivas advanced in a note to a 
sermon, preached by bim, on religion and patriotism, to captain 
Overton's independent company of volunteers, raised in Hanover 
county, Virginia, August 17 tb, 1755. 

Speaking of the revival of a martial spirit, he says, " as a 
remarkable instance of this, I may point out to the public that 
heroic youth colonel Washington, whom I eannot but hope provi~ 
dence bath hitherto preserved in so signal a manner, for some 
important service to his country." 

Nn 



283 WASHINGTONIANA. 

flu£luating army, sometimes almost dissolved in consequence of 
short enlistments, and at some critical moments nearly in total 
want of military stores, — how great must have been the firmness, 
and how vast the resources, of his aclive mind ! Unwilling to 
expose the life of a single soldier without necessity, or to risque 
an action without some good hope of sucojss, — he was at the 
same time eager to seize every opportunity that offered, for 
striking some unexpefted and decisive blow. To enter into par- 
ticulars here cannot be expe£led : the faithful historian will do 
justice to the subjeft, in a full narrative of those campaigns, in 
which his patience was put to the severest trial, and his patri- 
otism and fortitude most fully proved. In the gloomy periods 
of the revolution, — " the times that tried men's souls," — when 
thousands were ready to despond, — his equanimity and persever- 
ance gave animation to our troops and vigor to our councils. 
He infused as it were his own spirit into those that were placed 
under him, and may be said to have created as well as com- 
manded, the armies of America. Never did a people look up 
with more confidence, to any man placed at the head of their 
affairs, than we looked up to the father of our country. How- 
ever threatening might be the aspedl of the war, — as long as we 
heard that our Washington was alive, and his countenance still 
serene and wearing the placid smile of hope, we were confident 
that all would be well. Had we been deprived of him at a cer- 
tain crisis, there was abundant reason to fear, our armies would 
have been dissolved, and our country brought to the brink of 
ruin ! But, thanks to a kind heaven I that made his life and 
health its care ; he was preserved to see the arduous contest 
happily concluded. 

As he had taken up arms, for the defence of his country, not 
for military fame ; — .and as it was the height of his ambition, 
to see his country independent and her liberties established ;— 
so he cheerfully laid down his arms, and retired to his farm,* 
when the angel of peace bid the warrior rest. What numerous 

* With great propriety, therefore, is be stiled the American 
Gincinnatus, and those who partook in bis toils, and nobly imi' 
tated his example, Cincinnati. 



WASHINGTONIANA. 283 

congraturatory addresses were now presented to the savior of 
his country ! and how greatly admired were all his answers ; 
how dignified, and how modest ! how replete with excellent sen- 
timents, — and especially those of gratitude to the great dis- 
poser of events, to whose favor he was always mindful to ascribe 
his viiSlories ! I mention this, because it has always appeared to 
be one of the brightest traits in his charadler. He ever show- 
ed a profound reverence and sincere gratitude to that almighty 
being, who " is governor among the nations," and who " rais- 
eth up and casteth down at pleasure." 

Happy in his retirement, — in the contemplation of our na- 
tional prosperity, and in the consciousness of a well-spent life, — 
he was again called by the unanimous voice of his country, to 
preside over her councils, and to contribute his aid to cement 
the union of the states. For the confederation was found on 
trial to be only a rope of sand ; and a new constitution and 
bond of union was absolutely necessary, to make us respe£lable 
abroad, and to secure a general co-operation and harmony at 
home. How much our illustrious Washington contributed to 
this good work, his grateful countrymen will long remember. 
Without this bond of union, we should have been, like some of 
the ancient rival states of Greece, engaged in perpetual quar- 
rels among ourselves, and an easy prey to some bold invader. 
Under his wise and firm administration as first president of the 
United States, we enjoyed a great degree of peace and prospe- 
rity ;— while the fierce nations of Europe were seeking each 
other's destruction. 

When he had finished his course in this exalted station, he 
again retired to the shade of private life, — hoping never again 
to fill any public office. 

But providence had something more for his chosen servant 
yet to do, before he should enjoy the repose of the grave. He 
must once more appear at the head of our armies. And we have 
reason to think, that his acceptance of this high command wa? 
of vast importance, both to call forth afresh the military spirit 
of his country, and to show foreign powers, that we know hov/ 
to maintain, as we knew how to acquire, our independence. 



284 . WASHINGTONIANA. 

But, ah ! how unexpedledly are we deprived of our accom- 
plished chief ! How is the mighty fallen I No rank, or power, 
nd virtues, or honors, however pre-eminent, can save us from 
the great destroyer ! How exalted soever any man may have 
been, and however long and prosperously he may have lived, — 
the account must still be closed with the solemn sentence, he is 
here no more ! 

Weep, O America ! thy loss is great, let thy tears be ma- 
liy ! for thy most accomplished and best-loved son is snatched 
away ! The heroic general, the patriotic statesrr.an, the virtu- 
ous sage 1 His glory was indeed complete. There is no 

iifcrely human charafter, delineated in the page of history, round 
■which shine in fuller radiance the beams of every soul-exalting 
virtue : we can scarcely conceive of any thing which could be 
added, to give it a brighter lustre. Although far advanced in 
years, and his aftive powers and military ardor somewhat per- 
haps abated, — yst still his glory was full-orbed ; — and like the 
setting sun, though less dazzling, still retained the same mag- 
nitude, as at its meridian elevation. Providence unwilling, (if 
I may be allowed the expression) that his glory should be tar- 
nished in the least, by an exhibition of any of those weaknes- 
ses that are incident to extreme old age, removed him to a 
higher world, while yet his mental powers were entire, and his 
life aftive and useful. It was a saying of Solon, one of the 
wisest men of Greece, to one of the richest of kings, who 
wished to be complimented as the happiest of men, that, nO 
man should be called fortunate or happy, before death had finish- 
ed his course. Not a few, who once were honored, have out- 
lived their fame, and at last sunk, unnoticed or despised, into 
the grave. Far otherwise the hero whose praises we celebrate : 
as he was great in life, so he was great and magnanimous ih 
death ; and he is '* gone to the sepulchre of his fathers," laden 
with honors. Never perhaps was the death of any man, in any 
age, more sincerely, more generally lamented. Every where is 
heard the voice of condolence and the language of eulogy ;— 
every where the sable tokens of mourning are seen 1 



WASHINGTONIANA. 285 

What an honor to a nation, to have given birth to such a 
man ; and to have his name, as a hero, a patriot, and a states- 
man, to adorn the first and brighcest pages of her history ! 

How much soever, therefore, we may have cause to mourn ; 
let us be thankful that he has been called away, full of years, 
and with accummulated honors. 

Let us see the hand of the Lord in all that befalls us ; and 
pray to him, " whose arm is not weakened that it cannot save," 
to raise up for us other Washingtons, to lead our armies, and 
to inspire our councils. 

Patriots of America, and military officers of every name ! 
view the great example that is set before you. Emulate the 
virtues of your departed chief ; and in due time, your heads 
will also be adorned with the wreath of honor. Here you will 
learn what is true and unfading glory. You will see, that it 
is not the man, who is led on by the blind impulse of ambi- 
tion ; — wl-# rushes into the midst of embattled hosts merely to 
show his contempt of death ; or who wastes fair cities and de- 
populates rich provinces, — to spread far the terrors of his name 
— who is admired and praised, as the true hero and friend of 
mankind ; — but the man, who, in obedience to the public voice, 
appears in arms for the salvation of his country, shuns no pe- 
rils in a just cause, endeavors to alleviate, instead of encrease 
the calamities of war, and whose aim is to strengthen and 
adorn the temple of liberty, as resting on the immoveable basis 
of virtue and religion. The voice of justice, and the voice of 
suffering humanity, forbid us, to bestow the palm of true valor 
on the mad exploits of the destroyers of mankind. Our hero's 
delight was to save, not to destroy. His greatest glory is, that 
with small armies, and the loss of few lives, (compared with the 
wastes of other wars) he made his country free and happy. 

May America, while she admires his virtues, follow his 
councils, and learn from his excellent writings those precepts df 
wisdom, wliich, through the blessing of God, may exalt her to 
the highest felicity, and glory ! 



2S6 WASHINGTONIANA. 

May the great disposer of all events, when he takes away 
the fathers of our country, who were first in council and first 
in arms, raise up others, worthy to fill their places ! And may 
he over-rule all that concerns us, for his glory, and the hap- 
piness of his people ; and to his name be endless praises. 



Extract from an eulogy, on general George WASHiNcroNj 

pronounced at Boston, before the Ameri:an academy of arts 
and sciences* By Johh Da vis, A. M. 

IN common instances of mortality, when a father or friend 
returns to dust, we do not take our final adieu, though the 
funeral rites be accomplished. Grief first admits, then invites 
consolation, from conversing on the lives of the deceased : a 
recapitulation of their virtues and of their meritorious adlions 
is like Ossian's music, at once, " pleasant and moijjnful to the 
soul." 

When the father of his country ; when a nation's friend de- 
scends to the grave, it is fit that public commemorations should 
min"-le with private condolence : thit we should frequently re- 
cal to view his reverend image, and repeat our votive honors to 
him, who was never weary in contributing to our happiness. 

With such impressions, my literary fathers and friends, you 
have appointed this solemn meeting : with such impressions on- 
ly, could I prevail on myself to attempt the task, which it has 
been your pleasure to assign to me. 

Death has frequently taken a distinguished vidlim from the 
circle of your association. You have mourned the loss of the 
venerable Bowdoin, your revered president, your liberal patron, 
the friend and promoter of all that was excellent and pure : the 
public spirited, the munificent Hancock : the classical, eloquent 
Cooper : Clarke, in whom shone forth all the beauties of holi- 



WASHINGTONIANA. 28r 

ncsst "whose pious lips were ** wet with Castalian dews :" Belk- 
nap, learned, devout, and unaffefted, worthy of being the bio- 
grapher of Washington : Sumner, the cherished ornament of 
the commonwealth : to these, and many more of your beloved 
and respedled associates you have bidden a sad farewel : they 
are removed from your pleasant meetings to the cold and silent 
mansions of the grave. This day you lament the loss of one, 
who was not indeed an attendant at your literary interviews ; 
but who was still most dear : whose benign and happy influen- 
ces traveUed to their objeft, unimpeded by distance, like the 
mild and steady beams of planetary light. 

" Thou sleepest the sleep of death, but we are not unmind- 
ful of thee O ! Achilles : in life and in death, thou art equally 
the objedl of our regard and veneration." Thus sang the Gre- 
cian bard, to soothe the shade of a hero : with like affedlonate 
reverence, with pious sensibilities, do we cherish thy memory, 
departed Washington, and pay repeated visits to thy tomb. 

In contemplating a life, whose maturer portion Avas so singu- 
larly splendent, we are naturally prompted to look back to its 
commencement. Corresponding to that consistency of charac- 
ter, by which he was distinguished, marks of superiority are 
imprinted on the very threshold of 'his days. 

In the early dawn of manhood, delicate and important pub- 
lic duties were committed to his charge. Then appeared some 
of those heroic virtues, that presaged his future greatness. Un- 
shaken fortitude, firm perseverance, and sound discretion. Be- 
hold the intrepid messenger pursuing his weary way through a 
pathless wilderness. The assaults of the savage do not intimi- 
date him : the severities of winter do not arresc his progress. 
He returns in safety and in honor : though Gallic artifice strew- 
ed his way with thorns : though the waters of the Alleghany 
had well nigh extinguished his valued life, when their impetu- 
ous current rolled over his youthful head.* Illustrious man, 

* See bis yournal, published in the Massachusetts Maga- 
zinCf 1789. 



388 WASHINGT6NIANA. 

then, as in all thy life, the conscious satisfaftion resulting from 
a faithful discharge of duty, was thy sufficient, thy best reward : 
but how might it have cheered thy exalted spirit to have known, 
that far beyond the limits of thy long and arduous journey should 
extend an empire, wJiich should acknowledge thee, as the most 
distinguished instrument of its establishment. 

The same memorable ground next becomes the theatre of hlg 
military achievements ; and at the early age of twenty-seven, 
he has attradled the admiration of his country and retired tQ 
his beloved residence, with public testimonials of their approba- 
tion and regard. 

Agricultural employments, domestic endearments, and 
the discharge of civic trusts dignify and adorn the next fifteen 
years of his interesting life. But not these alone. In that 
calm interval, when common minds might have been corrupted 
by indulgence, or benumbed with satiety, the superior mind 
of Washington was improving under the wholesome regimen 
of systematic discipline. Faithful to the high obligations of 
truth and duty, faithful to himself, he studied the various rela- 
tions, that bind the man and the citizen, and, in the shade of 
peace and retirement, prescribed to himself those rules and max- 
ims of condu£l, on which was reared the lofty edifice of his fame. 

With correal and extensive views of the rights and interests 
of his country ; with lively sensibilities, when they were invad- 
ed or endangered, he had a. just title to the high honor of con- 
vening with that illustrious band of patriots and civilians, who 
composed the first national councils of united America. By 
that council, faithful and intelligent, deeply impressed with 
the mighty interests intrusted to their care, and well apprised 
that the fate of their country depended on their choice, he is 
unanimously appointed to command the feeble armies of an op- 
pressed people, against the veteran arms of the first European 
power. He suffers himself to be advanced to that " painful pre- 
eminence," though his strong and comprehensive m^ind could not 
have been unmindful of the vast " sea of troubles," on which 
he was embarking. 



WASHINGTONIANA. 289 

With a less corredl sense of public duty, he might have 
urged many claims to avoid the ponderous task ; and in a dubi- 
ous contest, multitudes from political opinion, and many, from 
an indulgent regard to an opulent and distinguished citizen, 
would have dignified the cautious decision, with the name of 
wisdom. He listens to no such unworthy suggestion. He 
takes council with himself — he obeys the call of his country — 
he hastens to the scene of adlion ; and at no period, perhaps, 
does his conduct appear more elevated and interesting, than at 
that impressive moment, when he placed himself at the head of 
his applauded band of undisciplined husbandmen, on yonder 
classic plains. 

The purity and magnanimity, thanifested by the acceptance of 
that arduous trust, taught his admiring country to expeft, with 
firm reliance, that, with those hopeful pledges, were associated 
all the protecting train of martial and of manly virtues. 

Those animating hopes were completely realized. Modelled, 
by his great example, the camp became a school of virtue, as 
•well as of military science. There were seen unshaken fideli- 
ty ; unsullied honor ; humane and social sympathies ; pure love 
of country ; respeft for the magistracy, and reverence for the 
laws. He sustained the standard of American liberty with 
energies suited to her charadler : tempering authority with mild- 
ness, bravery with discretion.— —Intrepid in danger, clement 
in viftory, undismayed by disaster, he bore the precious deposit 
through a long and perilous conflidl, animated by the applauses 
of a grateful country and the admiration of the world. 

The eventful occurrences that developed his talents and his 
virtues, are too deeply impressed upon the momory of those 
whom I address, to require a repetition. They were strongly 
associated with all you held most dear. Revolving years, life's 
multiplied concerns, a long and happy participation of succeed- 
ing peace and prosperity, have not effaced them from your re- 
membrance. And ye, ingenious youth, whose existence com- 
menced in the age of Washington, who have seen only his set- 

O 



290 WASHINGTON I AN A. 

ting sun, in the mirror of history you will behold the bright re- 
flection of his meridian beams. You will learn of your revered 
sires, how they were animated by their benign and cheering in- 
fluence. Ask of those who bare you : they will tell you, how 
his guardian form dispelled distressing tenors, and protefted by 
his arm, with what calm eomplacence they watched your infant 
slumbers. 

The elevated sentiments and expanded views, which inspired 
the mind of every aftive citizen, during the memorable contest 
for liberty and independence, were not satisfied with the firm 
pursuit, or the assured prospetl of those interesting objefts. 
During a struggle for political existence, you studied the liberal 
embellishments of a state, and like Pliny on Vesuvius, attend- 
ed to the pursuits of science, undismayed by the thunder and 
the storm, by which you were assailed. This literary establish- 
ment was a child of the revolution. Europe beheld it with ad- 
miration. The friends of America contemplated it with de- 
light. They considered it as affording renewed evidence, that 
you were resolved on the attainment of freedom, and were wor- 
thy of its enjoyment. 

The illustrious man, whose loss we now deplore, was among 
the first of your ele6\ed associates. It was a time of multiplied 
calamities. The military operations of the enemy Avere to be 
opposed in five different states of the Union. A mind occupied 
with such immense concerns, could not be expefted to apply it- 
self to the immediate objedls of your institution. Yet he ac- 
cepts your invitation ; looking forward, doubtless, to the happier 
days, when the arts of peace should succeed the horrors of war. 
As the first among the public charad\ers of the age ; as the pride 
and defence of your country, he was entitled to the earliest and 
most respeftful expressions of your attention : but he was your 
associate by still more appropriate chara£lers, by dispositions and 
accomplishments, altogether congenial to the nature and end of 
your institution. 

It is among the declared objedls of your enquiry, to ex- 
amine the various soils of the country, to ascertain their natural 



WASHINGTONIANA. 291 

growths and the different methods of culture : to promote and 
encourage agriculture, arts, manufadlures and commerce : to 
cultivate the knowledge of the natural history of the country, 
and to determine the uses, to which its various produdions may 
be applied. 

Pursuits of this nature always commanded his attention, 
and to some of them he was peculiarly attached. They were 
frequently the topic of his conversation, and the subjedt of his 
correspondence, with ingenious and public spirited men, in dif- 
ferent parts of the world. 

With a mind well-fitted to acquire just conceptions on any 
subject, to which his attention was diredled, he would, I am 
persuaded, have' been distinguished in the abstruser branches of 
science, if the course of life, which he had chosen, or to which 
he was impelled, had not been incompatible with the pursuit. 
In patient investigation, unwearied assiduity, and systematic 
arrangement, he was excelled by none. The uniform success, 
which attended his operations in military and political life, evin- 
ces great solidity of judgment : and he, who could produce 
such corred and prosperous results, in the great affairs of a na- 
tion, so liable to be defeated or impeded, by the ever varying 
humors and prejudices of men, with like aj?plication, might 
have been equally distinguished in the steady regions of science, 
whose permanent relations and connedled truths, never fail to 
disclose themselves to industrious research and attentive con- 
templation. 

But though a man of contemplative habits, he was still more 
fitted for adtion. It became necessary for the repose and hap- 
piness of his country, that he should leave the asylum of his de- 
clining years. Obedient to that voice, -which he could ne\^r 
hear but with veneration and love, he exchanges a retreat which 
he had chosen with the fondest prediledion, for the anxieties 
and toils of political elevation. How was he honored in the 
midst of the people, in coming forth from the shades of his re- 
tirement. " He was as the morning star in the midst of a, 
cloud ; and as the moon at the full j as the sun, shining upon 



293 WASHINGTONIANA. 

the temple of the most high ; and as the rainbow, giving 
light in the bright cloud."* — 

The duties of an employment, which is accepted with re- 
luctance, are frequently discharged with symptoms of weariness 
or disgust : but he engaged in the multiplied labors of his new 
and arduous station, as if it were the fond objecl of his choice ; 
and though enjoying a weight of charadter, which would pecu- 
liarly facilitate his measures, yet he discovered a laudable soli- 
citude, that tiiey should possess an intrinsic propriety, and con- 
diiffted himself with as much caution and circumspeftion, as if 
he were for the first time a candidate for public favor. 

The interesting obje£ls of his care, and their direct and inti- 
mate connexion with the solid interest and permanent welfare 
of his country were indeed congenial to the best wishes of his 
heart, and fitted to relieve the unavoidable solicitudes of his sta- 
tion. To regard with comprehensive and equal eye the great 
assemblage of communities and interests over which he presid- 
ed : to settle pure and solid foundations of national policy, 
consistent with the eternal rules of order and right which hea- 
ven has ordained : to establish public credit : to revive mutual 
confidence : to introduce with the native tribes on the frontiers, 
a system, corresponding with the mild principles of religion and 
philantrophy : to provide for the national security, by suitable 
military establishments : to found the safety of the United 
States, on the basis of systematic and solid arrangement : to 
guard against infradlions of the laws of nations : to maintain 
a friendly intercourse with foreign powers : to exhibit that sta- 
bility and wisdom in the public councils, which should be a just 
ground of public confidence : to adopt measures for the accom- 
plishment of our duties to the rest of the world, and create a 
capacity of exading from them the discharge of their duties 
towards us : to maintain to the United States their due rank 
among the nations of the earth : to vindicate the majesty of 
the laws, against violence and irsurreftion : to turn the machi- 
nations of the wicked to the confirming of the constitution : 

* JEcclesiasticus, 



WASHINGTONIANA. 20^ 

to extinguish the causes of external differences, on terms com- 
patible with national rights and national honor : to mingle in 
the operations of government every degree of modt-rati'-n avd 
tenderness, which national justice, dignity and safety might 
permit, and to exemplify the pre-eminence of a free gov * n- 
ment, by all the attributes, which might win the ;'.ff;Cl«:.s of 
its citizens and command the respeft of the world.* — these 
were the momentous pursuits, Avhich occupied his elevated mmd, 
and engaged his warmest affedlions : for these purposes, he in- 
vited the aid and co-operation of the enlightened counsels of 
the Union ; and, in spite of the petulance of opposition, or 
the effusions of faftion, his prosperous country and its grateful 
inhabitants, will testify that they have been accomplished. 



Extract from a discourse, occasioned by the death of general 
George Washington, delivered in Trinity-church, Nttvarky 
NetV'Jersey, By the Rev. Uzal Ogden, D. D. 

Text — ** Know ye not, that there is a prince, and a great man 
fallen this day in Israel ?" J I. Samuel, iii. 38. 

IT is declared by thfe Psalmist, that " the Lord is good unto 
all, and that his tender mercies are over all his works." 
The goodness of God to us, hath been exhibited in numerous 
and striking instances ; particularly, not only in the great ho- 
nor, dignity, and happiness of our original state ; in our re- 
demption from sin and misery, through the son of his love ; in 
" giving us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our 
hearts with food and gladness ;" but in raising up illustrious 
characters, in divers ages and countries, for the benefit of men ; 

* See Washington's speeches to congress, from which the above 
summary of his presidential pursuits is selected, with little va- 
riation from his otvn impressive language. 



294 WASHINGTONIANA. 

for their civilization ; for their knowledge of useful arts and 
sciences ; for their advancement in morals and religion ; and 
for their enjoyment of civil and religious liberty. 

I MIGHT for hours, and even days, detail the names and me- 
rits of such benefaftors of the world ; and it is with pleasure I 
observe, that this infant country can boast of many such wor- 
thies, in various professions of life ; but I mean only, at pre- 
sent, as a testimony of unfeigned respeft to his memory, to 
mention but one of these distinguished men, and to dwell a lit- 
tle on his character. 

When so ".great a man" as Washington " falls," in our 
Israel, unaffevrted must we be by loss ; devoid also of sensibility 
and gratitude ; regardless, likewise, of merit, decency ^nd ge- 
neral custom, if we do^not mourn his death and attempt to pro- 
claim his worth I 

For what hath been more common, than, by panegyric, or 
by mourning, publicly to notice the death of eminent men ? 
The ancient Greeks and Romans, as well as the Jews, were 
particularly attentive to such melancholy events. It was not 
luicomm.on for the Israelites to lament the death of an illustri- 
ous charader among them ; to refledt upon and recount his vir- 
tues ; thus, particularly, we are informed, that " the children 
of Israel wept for Moses, in the plains of Moab, thirty days." 
And what was more common, than for the primitive christians 
to deliver eulogiums on those distinguished for virtue and piety ? 

Though Abner was not so eminent a charafter as Moses, 
yet, as he was " a prince," and a famed captain in Israel, his 
death was not suffered to pass unnoticed ; but was most sin- 
cerely lamented by king David, and attended with funeral ho- 
nors. " And the king said unto his servants, know ye not, that 
there is a prince, and a great man fallen this day in Israel ?" 

What rendered the death of this prince more aiHifling, was, 
he fell by the hand of the assassin Joab ; who " took Abner 
aside in the gate to speak with him quietly, and smote him 
there under the fifth rib, and he died." 



WASHINGTONIANA. 295 

David declared his obhorrence of the murderous aft ; and 
said unto the people that were with him, " rend your clothes, 
and gird you with sackcloth, and mourn before Abner. And 
king David himself followtd the bier, and they buried Abner 
in Hebron ; and the king lifted up his voice and wept at the 
grave of Abner ; and all the people wept." 

"The news of Abner's death (saith a Jewish historian) went 
to the heart of David, insomuch, that the instant he heard it, 
he stretched forth his right hand towards heaven, uttering exe- 
crations against the assassin, whoever he was, and all his ac- 
complices ; and this, not only in detestation of so base and Tin- 
manly an adion, but also to declare, that upon the strictest 
niceties of faith and honor, he had been true to Abner (who 
had, joined the house of Saul against David) — for whom the 
king, by proclamation, appointed a public mourning, with all 
the solemnities of tearing of garments and putting on sackcloth. 
He himself, with his great ministers and officers, assisting at 
the funeral, and giving sufficient demonstrations, by wringing 
of hands, beating their breasts, and other expressions of sor- 
row, both for the veneration they had for Abner's memory, and 
the sense they had of so inistimable a loss. He caused the bo- 
dy to be interred at Hebron, with great state and magnificence, 
composing an epitaph himself to honor the deceased. He was 
the chief mourner, and a precedent to all the rest, who a(^ed 
in conformity to his exajnple." 



Ah ! dread event ! — How shall it be expressed ? — Washing- 
ton, the " great man in our Israel ;" the glory of our country ; 
the brightest ornament of human nature ; the admiration of the 
world — " falls". ..dies !...Not by the hand of treachery, as did 
Abner, but by the power of disease ! 

O DEATH ! how great thy triumph ? Ah ! how cruel thy 
stroke ? Who feels it not ? 



296 WASHINGTONIANA. 

Cease to weep, thou partner of his heart ; ye relatives and 
friends of virtue ! Cease to weep, ye fathers in council ; ye ci« 
tivicns of America ! For Washington weep not ! He died in 
honor, in peace with his God ; in full resignation to the will of 
heaven I 

He lives ; he moves in a more exalted sphere ! He lives too 
in your affecflions and remembrance ! And his fame shall live ; 
shall be transmitted from age to age, with growing lustre, till 
time shall be no more 1 

Astonishing has been the effeft of general Washington's 
death, in these states. See our venerable president, with the 
members of both houses of congress, clothed in the garb of 
sorrow, and reciprocating their language of condolence ! See the 
hails of congress and our temples of worship, drest in mourning ! 
See in our ships of war, and on our military staffs, the signals 
of grief 1 See the officers of our army and navy, and our citi- 
zens throughout the Union, displaying the badge of sorrow I 
Hear the bells proclaiming the mournful event, — Washington 
is dead ! See our public prints, clad in black, declaring the same 
awful truth ! Behold numerous processions of mourning ! Hear 
the pulpits wailing his death and announcing his worth ! Be- 
hold him the mournful theme of lay orators of the first distinc- 
tion ! Listen to the muse, which also mourns him dead, and 
sings his praise ! See every countenance dejedled with grief, and 
every heart torn with anguish ! 

What an eulogy ? What mortal before, received such praise ; 
such honors in life, and after death ! And what man, before, so 
justly merited them ? 

General Washington, it may be remarked, in several res- 
pefts, hath been singularly fortunate. How many, with ex- 
alted virtues and splendid talents, have commenced their career 
of fame and usefulness to men, as heroes and statesmen ? But 
bow few have reached the goal, and obtained the rewards of 
merit ? 



WASHINGTON I AN A. 297 

How many have been suddenly cut down by the scythe of 
death ? And, among ourselves, did there not thus fall a War- 
ren, a Montgomery and a Mercer ? How many through 
error in judgment, have wandered from the path ? How many 
have been checked, stopped in their course, by the power of 
envy, pride, hatred, calumny or ambition ? And how many 
have been turned aside by the force of gold ? 

To our reproach, had we not one of this charafter among us ? 
In the person of a general, of an hero, of a professed patriot, 
had wc not a traitor ? I grate not your cars with the sound of 
his name of infamy.* 

But, to our honor, besides a Washington, have we not been 
blessed with numerous heroea of patriotism ? With numerous 
patriotic legislators of wisdom, who, to their country have ren- 
dered very important services'? If all these services have not 
been rewarded according to their deserts,t shall we be charged 
with ingratitude ? Or shall poverty be our apology ? 

It is painful to refledl that often, but too often, uniform, per- 
severing and successful merit ; distrhguished deeds of bravery 
and p^riotism, have not only been treated with neglccSl, but 
even with insult and barbarity ! Among the several worthies 
thus treated, whose names now occur to me, there is one whose 
case is so afFe£ling, that I beg to be indulged the liberty of 
reminding you of It. 

Belisarius was general of the armies of the emperor Justi- 
nian, and, most deservedly, high in the confidence and esteem 
of his prince. This general possessed superior talents ; un- 
daunted valor ; the striftest probity ; great modesty, and the 
most ardent loyalty. He was justly regarded as the most illus- 
trious captain of the age, and rendered his cotintry the most 
eminent services, by his vidlories in Italy, Africa and Persia. 

* Benedict Arnold. 

t See Gordon's Historjy Vols, II and III* 



298 WASHINGTONIANA. 

In the year five hundred and thirty-two, so formidable a sedi- 
tion was excited at Constantinople, that Hypatius was pro- 
claimed emperor ; and so powerfully was he supported by Pro- 
bus and Pompeius, nephews of Anastasius, that Justinian was 
on the point of fleeing the city. From this measure, however, 
he was dissuaded by Belisarius, who soon suppressed the rebel- 
lion : And so disinterested and faithful a subje£l was he, that, 
having captured Vitiges, king of the Goths, and his whole fa- 
mily, in the city of Ravenna, this general chose rather to convey 
them to Constantinople, than to accept the Gothic crown, which 
he was even pressed to receive. 

But see the efFeiSls of envy I See the consequences of credul- 
ity and injustice in a monarch ! 

Belisarius, without proof, was accused of a conspiracy a- 
gainst his prince. And behold ! in consequence of the accusa- 
tion, the venerable patriot-soldier divested of authority, reduced 
to poverty, — and, after having had his eyes plucked out, abandon- 
ed, compelled to beg his bread in the streets of Constantinople ! 

But our Washington nobly disclaimed the reward of gold 
for his services ; nor did he covet the praise of men ! His coun- 
trymen, however, with the most heart-felt pleasure, honored 
him with their approbation ; with their gratitude and applause ! 
He enjoyed also the applause of Europe and even of the whole 
•world 1 

But, to the disgrace of human nature, towards the close of 
his administration, there were a few unworthy men, who had 
the audacity and impiety to open their lips of calumny against 
him ! Men who, from the baseness of their hearts and wicked- 
ness of their views, were unworthy even to utter the name of 
Washington ! — But men (among whom stood conspicuous the 
noted sot and infidel, Thomas Paine) who "wtre as unable to de- 
traft, by their language of scurrility, folly and falshood, from 
the merits of a Washington, as would have been futile their 
attempt to poison the Atlantic, by infusing into it the venom of 
a reptile ; or their effort to have extinguished the sun, by ejed- 
ing their filthy saliva towards it I 



WASHINGTONIANA. 299 

If vre view general Washington in private life, we shull still 
perceive that he adled worthy of himself. 

As an husband, besides his fidelity, he was attentive and atuc- 
tlonate. As a friend, he was faithful and sincere. As a neigh- 
bor, he was just, generous and obliging. As a citizen, he was 
highly deserving praise ; for he not only honored the laws of his 
country, but, in every respedV, promoted its interest to the ut- 
most of his power ; especially by countenancing and promoting 
semiirarles of learning and works of public utility. 

To the poor, he was liberal ; to the stranger, hospitable. 
As a master, he was lenient and kind, and, to all, his deport- 
ment was affable, though grave ; benevolent, without pride ; 
and pleasing, without affectation. His manners were plain, but 
dignified ; in his conversation he was easy, instru£llve, but not 
loquacious ; and he made no display of any superior knowledge, 
virtue or talent that he possessed. 

He encouraged modesty and virtue ; but frowned upon impu- 
dence and vice. As he venerated truth, he discountenanced 
falshood ; and, being generous himself, he abhorred meanness of 
spirit. He was revered and beloved by all who had the honor of 
his acquaintance. His person was tall and majestic ; his eye 
intelligent and penetrating ; his countenance placid, serious and 
thoughtful ; and his dress devoid of superfluous ornament, but 
always neat and becoming the charadler in which he appeared. 

But there is yet another point of view, in which we are to 
behold general Washington, and in which he shines also with 
great lusti-e ;— -we must see him in his christian character. 

Educated in the principles of the christian religion, he con- 
tinued to embrace it from a conviftion of its truth.* The im- 
pious and infidel philosophy of the present day, excited only his 
pity, his virtuous contempt and indignation ! His faith in Jesus 
Christ, the Son of God, was unshaken ; and he was careful to 

* He was a member of the Protestant Episcopal church* 



300 WASHINGTONIANA. 

venerate the precepts and public institutions of that holy and 
divine religion he professed. He adorned it by a life of indust- 
ry, sobriety, temperance and chastity ; humility, justice, charity, 
pietj'-, faith and trust in God. 

And is it not most reasonable to conclude, that to his christian 
virtue it was principally owing, that in prosperity he was not 
haughty ? That in adversity he did not despair ? That in the 
hour of temptation he was inflexible ? And that, amidst all the 
changes and vississitudes ; the storms and tempests of lif^, — he 
remained calm, serene, unappalled, undismayed ; putting his 
trust in that God who " is a present help in time of trouble ;" 
and who " saveth the upright in heart?" 

In this charaiSler, we behold him rising superior to every sin- 
ful indulgence ; to every calamity or affliftion that awaited him ; 
to all the praises and acclamations of men ; to all the pomp and 
shew and grandeur of the world. 

How peaceful and serene was his breast ! How happy his life ! 
And what blessedness attended him at his death ! Though its 
approach was sudden, it seems to him not to have come unex- 
pefted 1 He received its summons without fear or dread !■ — 
With calmness ; with dignity ; with perfedl resignation to the 
will of heaven, and with rational hopes of a blessed immortal- 
ity, he resigned his breath to him who gave it? ! 

Happv spirit I Delivered from the clog of mortality, with 
what holy triumph was it conveyed by angels to the world a- 
bove ; ushered into the courts of God, and invested with that 
palm of vi6:ory and crown of glory, which fade not away I 

How, my brethren, should our hearts glow with gratitude to 
God, for blessing us with so inestimable a charafter ? What 
greater honor can we now do him — or what greater benefit can 
we bestow on our country, than by our endeavors to imitate his 
example ? And though we cannot hope, by our best condudl, to 
be as useful to mankind, nor to enjoy his earthly fame ; yet, all 
of us, through divine goodness, may equal him in christian vir- 



WASHINGTONIANA. 301 

tues, enjoyments and rewards ! Let us, then, devote our hearts 
to God ; put our trust In him, and revere his holy laws I 

Will God Almighty of his infinite mercy grant that such 
may be our happiness ; — for the sake of the merits of Jesus 
Christ, our Lord ; to whom, with the Father and Holy Ghost^ 
three persons, but one God, be ascribed everlasting praise 



Extract from, a discourse.^ delivered at Woodbury y in Neiv-'Jersey^ 
on the death of general George JVashingto}/. By Joiiif 
CuoES, A. M. rector of Trinity-cburcb^ at Swedesborougb. 

THAT great and good man, that first of citizens, and first 
of heroes, *' O ! how my heart trembles to relate it !" 
is gone, irrevocably gone, to the mansions of the dead ! His 
fine majestic form, so expressive of native dignity ; his mild 
but animated countenance, so true an index of the excellencies 
of his mind ; that corporeal mansion, in which he ran his glo- 
rious earthly race, has ceased to be the habitation of his immor- 
tal part, and, like all terrestrial things, is now rapidly decaying, 
and mouldering to its native dust. Alas ! no more shall we 
see that interesting figure, that placid but manly face ; to be- 
hold which was the luxury of curiosity, and the pride and de- 
delight of the heart. No more shall the music of his voice 
charm our admiring ears. Ah ! no more shall our gallant sol- 
diers follow their Washington to vi£lory and fame. No more 
shall the influence of his name be the palladium of our republic, 
and the terror .of faction. The loss we have sustained, accord- 
to our finite calculations, is truly immense and irreparable. No 
mortal's death, since the existence of man, has been more sin- 
cerely and universally deplored. But while we grieve for the 
excessive calamity we have experienced, let us remember, that 
death is inseparable from our nature ; that nothing within the 
limits of human excellence and attainments, can rescue any one 
from that inevitable fate which awaits us all : that if the sum- 



S02 WASHINGTONIANA. 

mlt of human glory, if the brightest virtues of man, if the 
ttars and supplications of a nation, if the respeA and applauses 
of a world ; in fine, if the whole assemblage of mortal honors and 
perfeftions could have revoked that destiny of our nature, Wash- 
ington, cur glory and our delight, would not have died. Un- 
der the impression of this self-evident truth, however excessive 
our loss, we should not repine ; but, with entire resignation, 
consider that the ways of heaven, though inextricable by our 
limited capacities, are notwithstanding fraught with infinite 
■wisdom, and consummate goodness. Let us therefore dry up 
our tears, and while we cordially and cheerfully submit to a dis- 
pensation of providence so peculiarly ailliclive, let us make our 
grateful acknowlsdgements to the source of all good for his dis- 
tinguishing favor, in sparing, so long, a life so precious, and 
so useful. 

Shall we stop here, my respe<Sled audience, and seek no 
further for an alleviation of our sorroAv ? Are there not conso- 
lations more ample and joyful yet remaining ? Yes, infinite- 
ly more. Our Washington is not dead ! 

** Digmim laude virum musa vetat mori, Ctelo musa beat,* 

He has only exchanged a world of temptation and woe, for a 
world of bliss and glory eternal. " I am the resurrection and 
the life ;" salth our Lord, " he that believeth in me, though 
" he were dead, yet shall he live ; and whosoever liveth, and 
" believeth in me, shall never die." Having devoted a life, 
full of years, to the most honorable and beneficial offices ; hav- 
ing been the bulwark of his country in war, and her mentor in 
peace, and having set the purest and brightest examples of vir- 
tue, and piety, before his successors, before his countrymen 
and the world, his course being finished, he left all that was 
mortal behind him, and soared like a cherub to the realms of 
perpetual day ; and is now resting, we trust, in the bosom of 
Iiis saviour and God, and enjoying the sweet rewards of his 
well-spent life. 

* Horaee, 



WASHINGTONIANA. 303 

O DIVINE revelation ! who openest to us such enchanting 
hopes, who afFordcst us such sources of real consolation in the 
calamity we deplore, and in others of a similar nature ; may 
wc, like that incomparable man, never forsake thy luminous, 
thy heart-cheering paths, for the dark, gloomy and uncomfort- 
able mazes of infidelity and doubt. 

Havimg, therefore, such ample reasons to be satisfied with 
this dispensation of heaven, and to be resigned to his will, 
•* whose wisdom is unerring, and whose goodness is unchange- 
able and everlasting," will it be considered an improper conclu- 
sion to dire^ our attention, for a moment, to the solemn event 
of our own deaths ? We have seen that no virtues, however 
excellent ; no services, however beneficial and extensive ; no 
honorSj however numerous and grand j can deliver us from the 
power of the king of terrors. Die we must. It becomes then 
a subjedl of serious concern to us, whether or not we are pre- 
pared to follow our beloved and admired brother into the world 
of happy spirits. That we may draw a just conclusion, let us 
remember, that it is by the arduous path of faith, piety and 
benevolence, we must climb the heavenly mount. The beaten 
road of unbelief, ungodliness and immorality leads directly 
down to the shades of eternal' death. 

If heaven be our objeft, we must follow the path that con- 
dudls to it. If we hope again to behold our beloved and muck 
lamented Washington, we must live as Washington lived, 
*' Wc must deny ungodliness and worldly lusts and live soberly, 
righteously and godly in this present world." Thrice happy 
they, who undeviatingly pursue this sublime course 1 At that 
awful hour, so tremendous to the wicked, they may say, with 
composure, as our Washington said in his last moments ; 
I " have no fear to die." O blessed exit ! how devoutly to be 
desired ! May infinite goodness make ours as happy! 



J04 WASHINGTONIANA. 



Extract from an oration, on the death of .general GEORca 
WASHlSGfoN., delivered in Alexandria, at the request of 
the committee of arrangements By Doctor Elisha Cul- 
LEN Dick, 

FOUR millions of the human race, free in their thoughts 
and aiFecVions — unrestrained in their adlions, widely dis- 
persed over an extensive portion of the habitable globe, are 
seen devoted to a single purpose ; — A people detached by local 
causes— aftuated in common life by opposite views, or rivals in 
the pursuit of similar objecfls ; — jealous in all other matters of 
general concern — are offering the tribute of affe»Siion to the 
memory of their common friend. In vain shall we examine 
the records of antiquity for its parallel. Worth so transcen- 
dent as to merit universal homage, with a correspondent desire 
to bestow it, mark an event in the history of our country, that 
may be considered as a phenomenon in the annals of man. 

Modest and unassuming, yet dignified in his manners — ac- 
cessable and communicative ; yet superior to familiarity, he in- 
spired and preserved the love and resped\ of all who knew him. 
For the promotion of all public and useful undertaking, he was 
singularly munificent. The indigent and distressed, were at 
all times subjefts of his sympathy and concern. His charity 
flowed in quiet but constant streams, from a fountain that was 
at no time suffered to sustain the smallest diminution. No 
pursuit or avocation, however momentous, was permitted to 
interrupt his systematic attention to the children of want. 
His anxious solicitude on this score is pathetically exemplified 
in a letter written in 1775, at a time when the unorganized 
state of the army might have demanded his exclusive concern. 
Addressing himself to the late Lund Washington, he writes— 
" Let the hospitality of the house be kept with respeft to the 
" poor. Let no one go away hungry. If any of this kind of 
** people should be in want of corn, supply their necessities, 
" provided it does not encourage them in idleness. I have no 
" objeftion to your giving my money in charity, when yoir 
« think it will be well bestowed. I mean that it is my desire, 



WASHINGTONIANA. 305 

** ttiat it should be done. You are to consider that neither 
" myself nor my wife are now in the way to do these good 
« ofEces." 

Such, my fellow-citizens, was the man whose memory we 
have assembled to honor. It has been your peculiar felicity 
often to have seen him on the footing of social Intimacy. 
That the inhabitants of Alexandria, held a distinguished place 
in his afFeclion, you have had repeated testimony. You have 
seen his sensibility awakened, on occasions calculated to call 
forth a display of his partiality. The last time we met to of- 
fer our salutations, and express our inviolable attachment to 
the venerable sage, on his retiring from the chief magistracy 
of the Union, you may remember that in telling yon how pecu- 
liarly grateful were your expressions, the visible emotions of 
his great soul, had almost deprived him of the power of utter- 
ance. 

'But heaven has reclaimed its treasure, and America has 
lost its first of patriots and best of men — its shield in war ; in 
peace its brightest ornament, the a\^enger of its wrongs, the ora- 
cle of its wisdom and the mirror of its perfection. His fair fame, 
secure in its immortality, shall shine through countless ages with 
undiminished lustre. It shall be the stateman's polar-star, the 
hero's destiny ; the boast of age ; the companion of maturity 
and the goal of youth. It shall be the last national office of hoa- 
ry dotage to teach the infant that hangs on his trembling knee, 
to lisp the name of Washington. 



Extract from a funeral oration on general George JVashing- 
^OiV, delivered in tbe temple of Mars^ at Paris* By Louis 
FokTanes, 

FRANCE, unbiassed by those narrow prejudices which ex- 
ist between nations, and admiring virtue wherever it be 
found, decrees this tribute of respe£l to 4he manes of Wash- 



506 WASHINGTONIANA. 

ington. At this moment she contributes to the discharge of 
a debt due by two nations. No government, whatever form 
it bears, or whatever opinion it holds, can refuse its rcspe£l to 
this great father of liberty. The people who so lately stigma- 
tized Washington as a rebel, regard even the enfranchisement 
of America, as one of those events consecrated by history and 
by past ages. Such is the veneration excited by great charac- 
ters. The American revolution, the contemporary of our own, 
is fixed for ever. Washington began it with energy, and 
finished it with moderation. — He knew how to maintain it, 
pursuing always the prosperity of his country ; and this aim 
alone can justify at the tribunal of the most high, enterprises 
so extraordinary. 

" From every part of that America which he has delivered, 
the cry of grief is heard. It belonged to France to echo back 
the mournful sound ; it ought to vibrate on every generous 
heart. The shade of Washington, on entering beneath this 
lofty dome, will find a Turenne, a Catinat, a Gonde, all of 
■whom have fixed their habitation here. If these illustrious 
■warriors have not served in the same cause during life, yet the 
fame of all will unite them in death. Opinions subjeft to the 
caprice of the world and to time ; opinions, weak and change- 
able, the inheritance of humanity, vanish in the tomb : but 
glory and virtue live for ever. When departed from this stage, 
the great men of every age and of every place, become, in 
some measure, compatriots and cotemporaries — they form but 
one family in the memory of the living, and their examples 
are renewed in every successive age. Thus, within these 
walls, the valor of Washington attracts the regard of Gonde ; 
his modesty is applauded by Turenne ; his philosophy draws 
him to the bosom of Gatinat ; a people who admit the ancient 
dogma of a transmigration of souls, will often confess that 
the soul of Catiuat dwells in the bosom of Wnshingtcn. 



WASHTNGTONIANA. 30/ 



The following elegantly drawn characler^ of general Georgb 
JVjsnJNG7'oiiy "ivas published in London., Jan, 24, 1800. 

THE melancholy account of the death of general Washing- 
ton» was brought by a vessel from Baltimore, which has 
arrived off Dover. 

General Washington was, wc believe, in his 68th year. 
The height of his person was .ibout five feet eleven ; his chest 
full ; and his limbs, though rather slender, well shaped and mus- 
cular. His head was small, in which respe£l he resembled the 
make of a great number of his countrymen. His eyes were 
of a light blue ^color ; and, in proportion to the length of his 
face, his nose long. Mr. Stcwart» the eminent portrait painter, 
used to say there were features in his face totally different from 
what he had ever observed in that of any other human being ; 
the sockets for the eyes^ for instance, were larger than what he 
ever met with before, and the upper part of his nose broader. 
All his features, he observed, were indicative of the strongest 
passions ; yet, like Socrates, his judgment and great self-coni" 
mand have always made him appear a man of a different cast 
in the eyes of the world. He always spoke with great diffidence, 
and sometimes hesitated for a word ; but it was always to find 
one particularly well adapted to his meaning. His language was 
manly and expressive. At levee, his discourSfe with strangers 
turned principally upon the subjedl of America ; and if they 
had been through any remarkable places, his conversation was 
free and particularly interesting, for he was intimately acquaint- 
ed with every part of the country. He was much more open 
and free in his behavior at levee than in private, and in the com- 
pany of ladies still more so than when solely with men. 

Few persons ever found themselves for the first time in the 
presence of general Washington, without being impressed with 
a certain degree of vener;.tion and awe ; nor did those emotions 
subside on a closer acquaintance ; on the contrary, his person 
and deportment were such as rather tended to augment them. 
The hard service he had seen, the important and laborious ofli- 



508 WASHINGTONIANA. 

ces he had filed, gave a kind of austerity to his countenance, 
and a reserve to his manners : yet he was the kindest husband, 
the most humane master, the steadiest friend. 

The whole range of history does not present to our view a 
charafter upon which we can dwell with such entire and unmix- 
ed admiration. The long life of general Washington is not 
stained by a single blot. He was indeed a man of such rare 
endowments, and such fortunate temperament, that every aftion 
lie performed was equally exempted from the charge of vice or 
•weakness.— Whatever he said or did, or wrote, was stamped 
•with a striking and peculiar propriety. His qualities were so 
happily blended, and so nicely' harmonised, that- the result wag 
a great and perfect whole. The powers of his mind, and the 
dispositions, of his heart, were admirably suited to each other. 
It was the union of the most consummate prudence with the 
most perfeft moderation. His views, though large and liberal, 
were never extravagant : his virtues, though comprehensive and 
beneficent, were discriminating, judicious and praftical. 

Yet his charafter, though regular and uniform, pos<!essed 
none of the littleness which may sometimes belong to these de-t 
scriptions of men. It formed a majestic pile, the eiFe£t of which 
was not impaired, but improved by order and symmetry. There 
was nothing in it to dazzle by v/ildness, and surprise by eccen- 
tricity. It was of a higher species of moral beauty. It con- 
tained every thing great and elevated, but it had no false and 
tinsel ornament. It was not the model cried up by the fashion and 
circumstance : its excellence was adapted to the true and just 
moral taste, incapable of charge from the varying accidents of 
manners, of opinions and times. — General Washington is not 
the idol of a day, but the hero of ages ! 

Placed in circumstances of tjie most trying difficulty at 
the commencement of the American contest, he accepted that 
situation which was pre-eminent In danger and responsibility. 
His perseverance overcame every obstacle ; his moderation 
conciliated every opposition ; his genius supplied every re- 
source ; his enlarged view could plan, revise, and improve 



WASHINGTONIANA. 309 

every branch of civil and military operation. He had the su- 
perior courage which can adl or forbear to aft, as true policy 
diclates, careless of the reproaches of ignorance, either in pow- 
er or out of power. He knew how to conquer by waiting. In 
spite of obloquy, for the moment of vidory ; "and he merited 
true ])raise by despising undeserved censure. In the most ar- 
duous moments of the contest, his prudent firmness proved the 
salvation of the cause which he supported. 

As his elevation to the chief power was the unbiassed 
choice of Jiis countrymen, his exercise of it was agreeable to 
the parity of its origin. As he had neither solicited nor usurp- 
ed dominion, he had neither to contend Avith the opposition of 
rivals, nor the revenge of enemies. As his authority was un- 
disputed, so it required no jealous precautions, no rigorous 
severity. His government was mild and gentle ; it was bene- 
ficient and liberal ; it was wise and just. His prudent admin- 
istration consolidated and enlarged the dominion of an infant 
republic. In voluntarily resigning the magistracy which he 
had filled with such distinguished honor, he enjoyed the une- 
qualled satisfaAion of leaving to the state he had contributed 
to establish, the fi nits of his wisdom and the example of his 
virtues. 

It is some consolation, amidst the violence of ambition and 
the criminal thirst of power, of which so many instances occur 
around us, to find a charad,er whom it is honorable to admire, 
and virtuous to imitate. A conqueror, for the freedom of his 
country ! A legislator, for its security ! A magistrate, for 
its happiness ! His glories were never sullied by those exces- 
ses into which the highest qualities are apt to degenerate. 
With the greatest virtues he was exempt from the correspond- 
ing vices. He was a man in whom the elements were so mix- 
ed, that " nature might have stood up to all the world" and 
owned him as her work. His fame, bounded by no country, 
will be confined to no age. The charader of general Wash- 
ington, which hi§ cotemporaries regret and admire, will be 
transmitted to posterity ; and the memory of his virtues, while 
patriotism and virtue are held sacred among men, will remain 
undiminished. 



no WASHINGTONIANA. 



Portrait of general George WashingTos. By Marquis 
Chastelleavx. 

THE marquis having arrived at general Washington's head- 
quarters, was introduced to the American Cincinnatus, 
of whom he speaks in the following elegant and animated lan- 
guage : 

Eravk without temerity — laborious without ambition — ge- 
nerous without prodigality — noble without pride — virtuous with- 
out severity — he seems always to have confined himself v/ithin 
those limits, where the virtues, by clothing themseleves in more 
lively, but more changeable and doubtful colors, may be mis- 
taken for faults. — This is the seventh year that he has com- 
manded the army, and that he has obeyed the congress. More 
need not be said, especially in America, where they know how 
to appreciate all the merit contained in this simple aft. Let it 
be repeated that Conde was intrepid, Turenne prudent, Eugene 
adroit, and Catinat disinterested. It is not thus that Washing- 
ton will be charafterised. It will be said of him, at the end of 
a long civil war, he had nothing with which he could reproach 
himself. If any thing can be more marvellous than such a cha- 
rafter, it is the unanimity of the public suffrages in his favor. 
Soldier, magistrate, people, all love and admire him ; all speak 
of him In terms of tenderness and veneration. Does there then 
exist a virtue capable of restraining the injustice of mankind ; 
"or, are glory and happiness too recently established in America, 
for envy to have deigned to pass the seas ? 

In speaking of this perfed whole, of which general Wash- 
ington furnishes the Idea, I have not excluded exterior form. 
His stature is noble and lofty ; he is well made and exactly pro- 
portioned ; his physiognomy mild and agreeable, but such as 
renders it Impossible to speak particularly of any of hig features, 
so that in quitting him, you have only the recollection of a fine 
face. He has neither a grave nor a familiar air ; his brow is 
sometimes marked with thought, but never with inquietude. — 
Inspiring rerped, he inspires confidence, and his smile is always 
•the smile of benevolence. 



WASHINGTONIANA. 311 



Sketch of general GzoRGE Washisctoh, from BRissor's Tra- 
vels in Norlb America, 

T'^HE general's goodness beams in his eyes. They have no 
longer that fire which his officers found in them when at 
the head of his army ; but they brighten in conversation. In 
his countenance there are no striking features ; hence it is dif- 
ficult to catch a likeness of him, for few of his portraits resem- 
ble him. All his answers discover good sense, consummate pru- 
dence, and great diffidence of himself; but at the same time, 
an unalterable firmness in the part he has once embraced. His 
modesty cannot but be particularly astonishing to a French- 
man. He speaks of the American war, as if he had not been 
the conduftor of it ; and of his viclories with an indifference 
with which nd stranger could mention them. I never saw him 
grow warm, or depart from that coolness which characterises 
him, except when talking on the present state of America.— 
The divisions of his country rend his soul. He feels the neces- 
sity of rallying all the friends of liberty around a central point, 
and of giving energy to the government. To his country he 
is still ready to sacrifice that quiet which constitutes his hap- 
piness. Happiness, said he to me, is not in grandeur, is not ia 
the bustle of life. This philosopher was so thoroughly con- 
vinced of the truth of this, that from the moment of his re- 
treat, he broke off every political connexion, and renounced 
every place in the government ; yet in spite of such a renunci- 
ation, of such disinterestedness, of such modesty, this astonish- 
ing man has enemies ! He has been vilified in the newspapers; 
he has been accused of ambition, of intrigue, when all his 
life, when all America, can witness his disinterestedness, 
and the reftitude of his condu£l : Virginia is perhaps the sole 
country where he has enemies ; for no where else have I heard 
his name pronounced but with resped, mixed with affeclion 
and gratitude. You would think the Americans were speak- 
ing of their father. It would be wrong, perhaps, to compare 
Washington with the most celebrated, warriors : but he is the 
model of a republican ; displaying ail the qualities, all the 
virtues of one. 



312 WASHINGTONIANA* 

-Extract from an elegiac poem^ or. the death of general GeorGM 
JVashington. Bj Ciiahles Calvivellj A. M. AL D* 

AND is it so ? Is Washington no more ? 
Fame blow a blast to startle every shore ! 
Let every shore the solemn note rebound, 
Till universal nature catch the sound — 
The awful sound ! to announce that stroke of fate^ 
The death of all that's glorious, good and great ! 
Of all that kindred angels stoop'd to scan. 
The brightest wonder of that %vonder man I 
And could not goodness, could not greatness save ? 
Nor human glory rescue from the grave ? 
Could not a nation's sighs a nation's prayers, 
Procure for ONE a ceaseless round of years ? 

Hail, matchless mortal, heaven's distinguished care I 
Epitome of virtues great and rare ! 
Resplendent model of majestic mind ! 
Where talents high their confluent lustre join'd I 
Sure nature form'd thee of superior dust, 
As Ciesar generous, and as Cato just ! 
A soul, in war's emergence form'd to rule, 
As Gyrus provident, as Fabius cool 1 
When honor sumftion'd, as Achilles warm, 
As Scipio promp, as Cincinnatus firm I 
"When danger frown'd, and battle shook the skies, 
As He<rtor daring, as Ulysses wise 1 

Calm and serene amid the voUied storm, 
Our hero smil'd at death in every form. 
And still from heaviest clouds of hopeless fate, 
Emerg'd and rose as Alexander great ! 
To rear the towering fabric of his fame, 
He rifled all of Greek and Roman name ; 
And even, in war, imperial Albion's lord, 
Bow'd to the splendors of his conq^uering sword I 



WASHINGTONIANA. 313 

Born with a mind untaught to shrink or yield, 
In council deep, unfathoni'd in the field, 
In charge resistless, dangerous in defeat. 
In victory clement, dreadful in retreat ! 
Cradled mid arms, a soldier from his birth, 
He stood the awe and glory of the earth ! 

But, not alone in scenes where glory fir'd, 
He mov'd no less in civil walks admir'd ! 
Though long a warrior, choice of humap blood, 
As Brutus noble, and as Titus good I 
To all that form'd the hero of the age, 
He join'd the patriot and the peaceful sage. 
The statesman powerful, and the ruler just. 
No less illustrious than th.e chief august ; 
And, to condense his chara£lers in one, 
The godlike father of his country shone I 

Such was the man ! let distant ages know, 
For whom Columbia droops in weeds of woe ! 
Peerless in life ! — .Yc wondering realms attend ! 
His fame was brighten'd by his glorious end ! 
By pain unmov'd, magnanimous in death, 
He prov'd the hero with his latest breath! 
And shot eternal splendours through the gloom, 
That shrouds, in night, the confines of the tomb ! 
His worth, increasing with his reverend days, 
Had taught a nation virtue's radiant ways. 
Then, greatly yielding life, without a sigh. 
His last example taught them how to die ! 

Shade of immortal Warren hither bend ! 
Montgomery, Mercer, Lawrence, Green, attend 1 
Mid files of angels, rang'd on either side, 
And forms angelic your celestial guide, 
Gonduft, in triumph, to the climes above, 
The illustrious spirit of the chief you love! 



Rr 



3U WASHINGTONIANA* 

Ye hostile chiefs on Europe's hanass'd shore, 
Who fiercely fan, with banners dipt in gore, 
The dreadful flame of war ! revert your eyes, 
Behold the death, Columbia's hero dies ! 
In life how mild, how firm, how just, how brave I 
And lo ! what glories issue from his grave ! 
What weeping millions o'er his ashes bend ! 
What bursts of woe his country's bosom rend I 
What prayers, what eulogies ascend the sky. 
What deathless monuments in embryo lye ! 

Ye emperors, kings, and civil powers august I 
Whose bleeding armies agonize in dust. 
Whose rifled subjeils raise a general groan, 
And cheerless realms mid deep oppression moan ! 
Whose breasts a thirst for martial fame inspires ; 
Whom love of wealth, of power, or conquest fires, 
Ambition drags, in triumph, at her car, 
While spurious glory dazzles from afar ! 
To your throng'd courts, my feeble voice I raise, 
To you address expostulary lays ! 
Scan well our hero's lil'e, his death admire, 
And burn your bosoms with a kindred fire ! 
When dark oppression's clouds impend your land, 
Like him, the avenging thunders in your hand, 
Rush foremost, mid the fierce embattled hosts. 
And hurl the bold invader from your coasts ! 
But when, the vidory won, the conflidl o'er. 
Mild mercy's accents whisper round your shore, 
Like him command the storm of war to cease. 
The love inspire and rear the arts of peace ! 
Pluck from your brows the laurel wreaths entwin'd. 
With radiant hand the blooming olive bind. 
And let your swords, the glory of the brave, 
To ploughshares turn, and golden harvests wave I 
Like him, the fathers of your people prove, 
Like him, expire amid your people's love 1 



WASHINGTONIANA. 315 

Come sages 1 co'.iie, and with the sorrowing tear, 
Bedew the pall that shrouds your Idol's bier, 
Ye statesmen, chiefs, and faithful patriots rise, 
And sieze his mantle ere he reach the skies, 
Ye virgins fair, and modest matrons come, 
And strew, with flowrets fresh, your guardian's tomb, 
With pearly sorrows bathe the hallowed ground. 
And breathe the soul of plaintive music round ! 

Ye war-worn veterans, faithful to your chief. 
Torn by remorseless pangs of manly grief, 
Who, oft, the fierce conflicting ranks among. 
Where carnage, leagu'd. with terror swept along, 
Crush'd the bold warrior, rent his bosom's core, 
And lapt, with demon thirst, the streaming gore. 
Where host with host, and man with man engag'd, 
And all the tumult of the battle rag'd. 
Have heard, Avith joy, his all-commanding word. 
And seen the beamy terrors of his sword. 
Have seen pale squadrons rally at his call. 
And hostile legions struck with deep appal. 
With slow and reverend step approach the grave, 
That holds, enshrin'd, the relifts of the brave ! 
On bended knee, salute the sacred ground, 
And let your warlike honors burst around ! 
Then, germs of olive, oak, and laurel bring, 
And let them, mingling, o'er your hero spring 1 

Strike, nature ! strike, with force, thy mighty bell, 
And sound through all thy realms his funeral knell ! 



Here let a statesman, there a reverend sage, 
To mark and emulate his steps engage, 
Columbia, widow'd count his virtues o'er, 
Around his tomb her pearly sorrows pour. 
And mild religion, of celestial mien. 
Point to her patron's place, in realms unseen ! 
Then stamp in gold, the monument above. 
The mournful "TRiBurE of a nation's love! 



316 WASHINGTONIANA. 

Extract from a poem^ sacred to the memory of general Georcz 
Washington. By Richard Alsqp. 

EXALTED chief — in thy superior mind 
What vast resourse, what various talents join'd 1 
Teniper'd with social virtue's milder rays, 
There patriot worth difFus'd a purer blaze : 
Form'd to command respeft, esteem inspire, 
Midit statesmen grave, or midst the social choir, 
With equal skill the sword or pen to wield, 
In council great, unequall'd in the field. 
Mid glittering courts or rural walks to please. 
Polite with grandeur, dignified with ease ; 
Before the splendors of thy high renown 
How fade the giow-worm lustres of a crown ; 
How sink diminish'd in that radiance lost 
The glare of conquest, and of power the boast. 
Let Greece her Alexander's deeds proclaim, 
Or CsDsar's triumphs gild the Roman name, 
Slripp'd of the dazzling glare around them cast» 
Shrinks at their crimes humanity aghast ; 
With equal claim to honor's glorious meed 
See Attila his course of havoc lead 1 
O'er Asia's realms, in one vast ruin hurl'd, 
See furious Zingis' bloody flag unfurl'd. 
On base far-difFcrent from the conqueror's claim 
Rests the unsullied column of thy fame ; 
His on the Avoes of millions proudly bas'd, 
With blood cemented and with tears defac'd ; 
Thine on a nation's welfare fix'd sublime. 
By freedom strengthen 'd and rever'd by time. 
He, as the comet, whose portentous light 
Spreads baleful splendor o'er the glooms of night, 
With chill amazement fills the startled breast. 
While storms and eavthquakes dire its course attest, 
And nature trembles, lest, in chaos hurl'd. 
Should sink the tott'ring fabric of the world. 
Thou, like the sun, whose kind propitious ray 
Opes the glad mcrn and lights the fields of day» 



WASHINGTONIANA. 317 

Dispels the -wintry storm, the chilling rain, 

Wiih rich abundance clothes the smiling plain, 

Gives all creation to rejoice around, 

Aud life and light extends o'er nature's utmost bound. 

Tiiough shone thy life a model bright of praise, 
Kot less the example bright thy death pourtrays. 
When, plung'd in deepest woe, around thy bed, 
Each eye was fix'd, despairing sunk each head, 
While nature struggled with severest palnj, 
And scarce could life's last lingering powers retain : 
In that dread moment, awfully serene, 
No trace of suffering mark'd thy placid mien, 
No groan, no murmuring plaint escap'd thy tongue, 
No low'ring shadows on thy brow were hung ; 
But calm in christian hope, undamp'd with fear. 
Thou saw'st the high reward of virtue near. 
On that bright meed in surest trust repos'd 
As thy firm hand thine eyes expiring clos'd 
Pleas'd, to the will of heaven resign'd thy breath, 
And smil'd as nature's struggles clos'd in death. 

Ill-fated country — lo, of aid bereft, 
Thy spear is broken and thy buckler cleft ! 
What arm shall now a firm support bestow, 
And shield thee harmless from the thrcat'nlng foe ; 
Who, mid the storm, with fearless hand shall guide 
Thy course in safety o'er the troubled tide ? 
See faftlon lift on high his hateful head, 
0'er4iis dark brow unwonted smiles are spread, 
His lurid eye malignant triumph glares. 
And joy infernal every feature wears ! 
For now^ no more that piercing eye he fears. 
No more that voice, with terror thrlU'd, he hears ; 
That eye, from whose bright beam he shrunk dismay'd. 
And veil'd his treasons in the midnight shade ; 
That fateful voice which levell'd In the dust 
His plots nefarious, and his high-rais'd trust ; 
For, lo, in slumbers of the grave repos'd, , 

Hush'd is that voice, that eye in darkness clos'd I 



318 WASHINGTONJANA. 

Ye j'oiitb, Columbia's pride, to whom has heaven 
In sacred trust her future welfare given ; 
On whom devolves the high the important charge ; 
Her rights to guard, her happiness enlarge ; 
Fix'd to whose course immutably remains 
Her bliss cr woe, her liberty or chains ! 
O let your patriot father's precepts rest 
Deep in your hearts indelibly imprest 1 
Let his example bright your souls inspire, 
To virtue kindle and to glory fire ; 
Teach you the yells of faction to despise, 
TJnmasque his arts and strip his thin disguise ; 
To spurn, with generous pride and. mark'd disgrace, 
The attempts insidious of a foreign race. 
To spread their baleful influence o'er your land 
Direct its councils and its strength command, 
What means soe'er their end to gain they try, 
Or force employ, or artifice apply. 
If with the tiger's glare they mark the prey. 
Or crafty serpent's subtleties display. 
Nor e'er seduc'd. let discord's fiends abhorr'd 
Tempt you to drav/ the parricidal sword. 
Your country's breast to wound with mortal blow, 
And lay the bulwark of her safety low ; 
But, friends to order, firm, in union'd band, 
Around your government collected stand, 
That edi&ce on equal freedom rear'd, 
By reason sandion'd, and by truth rever'd? 
Let dire disunion, party rage expire, 
And one great objedl all your bosoms fire, 
Bid local hate and jealousy subside, 
The oflspring mean of ignorance and pride ; 
And teach the world Columbia's sons alone 
One glorious objedt of contention own, 
By virtuous ads, disinterested zeal, 
And fond devotion to their country's weal, 
With unremitting ardor to pursue 
The path that Washington has op'd to view. 



WASHINGTONIANA. 319 



Tribute, by Mr. Paine., of Massachusetts. 

OH Washington ! thou hero, patriot, sage ! 
Friend of all climes, and pride of everj'^ age ! 
Were thine the laurels, every soil could raise, 
The mighty harvest were penurious praise. 
Well may our realms, thy fabian wisdom boast j 
Thy prudence sav'd, what bravery had lost. 
Yet e'er hadst thou, by heaven's seVerer fates, 
Like Sparta's hero at the Grecian straits, 
Been doom'd to meet in arms, a world of foes, 
Whom skill could not defeat, nor walls oppose, 
Then had thy breast, by danger ne'er subdued, 
The mighty buckler of thy country stood ; 
Proud of Its wounds, each piercing spear would bless. 
Which left Columbia's foes one javelin less; 
Nor felt one pang— but, in the glorious deed. 
Thy little band of heroes too, must bleed ; 
Nor throbb'd one fear— but, that some poison'd dart 
Thy brfeast might pass, and reach thy Country's heart i 



\^From a London Newspaper.] 

GREAT without pomp, without ambition brave, 
Proud, not to conquer fellow-men, but save j 
Friend to the weak, a foe to none but those 
Who plan their greatness on their brethren's woes ; 
Aw'd by no titles — undefil'd by lust — 
Free without faclion, obstinately just ; 
Too wise to learn from Machiavel's school, 
That truth and perfidy by turns should rule ; 
Warm'd by religion's sacred, genuine ray. 
That points to future bliss th' unerring way ; 
Yet ne'er control'd by superstition's laws. 
That worst of tyrants in the noblest cause. 



320 WASHINGTONIANA. 



On the death of general George JVASHiNCfoNf from a late 
London paper. 

LAMENTED chief, at thy distinguish'd deeds, 
The world shall gaze with wonder and applause ; 
While on fair hist'ry's page the patriot reads 
Thy matchless valor in thy country's cause. 

Yes, it was thine, amid destrudlive war, 
To shield it nobly from oppression's chain j 

By justice arm'd to brave each threat'ning jar. 
Assert its freedom, and its rights maintain. 

Much honored hero, statesman, husband, friend, 
A gen'rous nation's grateful tears are thine ; 

E'en unborn ages shall thy worth commend. 
And never-fading laurels deck thy shrine. 

Illustrious warrior ! on the immortal base, 

By freedom rear'd, thy envied name shall stand ; 

And fame, by truth inspir'd, shall fondly trace 
Thee, pride and guardian of thj native land. 



APPENDIX. 



(No. I.) 

elRCl/uAR LEffERy ADDRESSED fO 'THE COVERNORS OF fHE 
SEVERAL STATES, BV HIS EXCELLENCr GeORGE WASHING" 
TONy ON HIS RESIGNING THE COMMAND OF THE JlRMTy AND 
RETIRING FROM PUBLIC BUSINESS, 

HEADQUARTERS, 
SIR, Newburch, June 18, 1783. 

THE great objeft, for which I had the honor to hold an ap* 
pointment in the service of my country, being accomplifhed, 
I am now preparing to resign it into the hands of congress, and 
return to that domestic retirement, which, it is well known, I 
left with the greatest reluiSlance ; a retirement for which I have 
never ceased to sigh through a long and painful absence, in which 
(remote from the noise and trouble of the world) I meditate to 
pass the remainder of life, in a state of undisturbed repose ; but» 
before I carry this resolution into efFeft, I think it a duty incum- 
bent on me to make this my last official communication, to con- 
gratulate you on the glorious events which heaven has been pleased 
to produce in our favor, to offer my sentiments respedling some 
important subje£ls, which appear to mc to be intimately connefted 
"with the tranquillity of the United States, to take my leave of 
your excellency as a public character, and to give my final bles- 
sing to that country, in whose service I have spent the prime of 
my life ; for whose sake I have consumed so many anxious days 
and watchful nights, and whose happiness, being extremely dear 
to me, will always constitute no Inconsiderable part of my own. 

Impressed with the liveliest sensibility on this pleasing occa- 
sion, I will claim the indulgence of dilating the more copiously 
on the subjedl of our mutual felicitation. When we consider the 
magnitude of the prize we contended for, the doubtful nature o£ 

A 



2 APPENDIX. 

the contest, and the favorable manner in which it has terminated; 
we shall find the greatest possible reason for gratitude and rejoic- 
ing ; this is a theme that will afford infinite delight to every be- 
nevolent and liberal mind, whether the event in contemplation be 
considered as a source of present enjoyment, or the parent of fu- 
ture happiness ; and we fliall have equal occasion to felicitate our- 
selves on the lot which Providence has assigned us, whether we 
view it in a natural, a political or moral point of light. 

The citizens of America, placed in the most enviable condi- 
tion, as the sole lords and proprietors of a vasttracl of continent, 
comprehending all the various soils and climates of the world, and 
abounding with all the necessaries and conveniences of life, are 
Bov,', by the late satisfadory pacification, acknowledged to be pos- 
sessed of absolute freedom and independency ; they are from this 
period to be considered as the a£lors on a most conspicuous thea- 
tre, which seems to be peculiarly designed by Providence for the 
display of human greatness and felicity : Here they are not only 
surrounded \vith every thing that can contribute to the completion 
of private and domestic enjoyment ; but heaven has crowned all 
its other blessings, by giving a surer opportunity for political hap- 
piness, than any other nation has ever been favored with. No- 
thing can illustrate these observations more forcibly than a recol- 
leftion of the happy conjundure of times and circumstances, un- 
der which our republic assumed its rank among the nations.— 
The foundation of our empire was not laid in a gloomy age of 
ignorance and superstition, but at an epocha when the rights of 
mankind were better understood and more clearly defined, than at 
any former period : Researches of the human mind after social 
happiness have been carried to a great extent ; the treasures of 
knowledge acquired by the labors of philosophers, sages and legis- 
lators, through a long succession of years, are laid open for us, 
and their colleded wisdom may be happily applied in the establish- 
ment of our forms of government. The free cultivation of let- 
ters, the unbounded extension of commerce, the progressive re- 
finement of manners, the growing liberality of sentiment ; and, 
above all, the pure and benign light of revelation, have had a me- 
liorating influence on mankind, and increased the blessings of so- 
ciety. At this auspicious period the United States came into ex* 



APPENDIX. 3 

ittence as a nation, and if their citizens ftiould not be coinpletely 
free and hippy, the fault will be entirely their own. 

Such is our situation, and such are our prospers : but not» 
withstanding the cup of blessing is thus reached out to us, not- 
withstanding happiness is ours, if we have a disposition to seize 
the occasion, and make it our own, yet it appears to me, there 
Is an option still left to the United States of America, whether 
they will be respe£lable and prosperous, or contemptible and mi- 
serable as a nation ; this is the time of their political proba- 
tion J this is the moment when the eyes of the whole world are 
turned upon them ; this is the time to establish or ruin their 
national charadler for ever ; this is the favorable moment to 
give such a tone to the federal government, as will enable it 
to answer the ends of its institution ; or, this may be the ill- 
fated moment for relaxing the powers of the union, annihilat- 
ing the cement of the confederation, and exposing us to become 
the sport of European politics, which may play one state against 
another, to prevent their growing importance, and to serve their 
own interested purposes. For, according to the system of po- 
licy the states shall adopt at this moment, they will stand or 
fall ; and, by their confirmation or lapse, it is yet to be decided, 
•whether the revolution must ultimately be considered as a bles- 
sing or a curse ;- — a blessing or a curse, not to the present age 
alone, for with our fate will the destiny of unborn millions be 
involved. 

WiTu this convidlion of the importance of the present crisis, 
silence in me would be a crime ; I will therefore speak to your 
excellency the language of freedom and sincerity, without dis* 
guise. I am aware, however, those v.ho differ from me in po- 
litical sentiments may, perhaps, remark, I am stepping out of 
the proper line of my duty ; and they may possibly ascribe to 
arrogance or ostentation, what I know is alone the result of the 
purest intention ; but the reditude of my own heart, which dis- 
dains such unworthy motives ; the part I have hitherto afled in 
life, the determination I have formed of not taking any share 
in public business hereafter ; the ardent desire 1 feel, and fliall 
continue to manifest, of quietly enjoying in private life, after 



4 APPENDIX. 

all the tolls of war, the benefits of a wise and liberal govern-. 
ment, will, I flatter myself, sooner or later, convince my coun- 
trymen, that I could have no sinister views in delivering with 
§o little reserve the opinions contained in this address. 

There are four things which I humbly conceive are essential 
to the well being, I may even venture to say, to the existence 
of the United States as an independent power. 

1st, An indissoluble union of the states under one federal 
head. 

2dly. A SACRED regard to public justice. 

3dly. The adoption of a proper peace establishment. And, 

4thly. The prevalence of that pacific aqd friendly disposi- 
tion among the people of the United States, which will induce 
them to forget their local prejudices and policies, to make those 
mutual concessions which are requisite to the general prosperity, 
and, in some instances, to sacrifice their individual advantages 
to the interest of the community. 

These are the pillars on which the glorious fabric of our in- 
dependency and national charader must be supported. — Liberty 
is the basis — and whoever would dare to sap the foundation, or 
overturn the strudlure, imder whatever specious pretext he may 
attempt it, will merit the bitterest execration, and the severest 
punishment, which can be inflided by his injured country. 

On the three first articles I will make a few observations ; 
leaving the last to the good sense and serious consideration of 
those immediately concerned. 

Under the first head, although it may not be necessary or 
proper for me in this place to enter into a particular disquisition 
of the principles of the union, and to take up the great ques- 
tion which has been frequently agitated, whether it be expedi- 
ent and requisite for the states to delegate a larger proportion, 



APPENDIX. S 

of power to congress, or not ; yet it will be a part of iny duty, 
and that of every true patriot, to assert, without reserve, and 
to insist upon the following positions : — That unless the states 
will suffer congress to exercise those prerogatives they are un- 
doubtedly invested with by ;he constitution, every thing must 
very rapidly tend to anarchy and confusion. That it is indis- 
pensible to the happiness of the individual states, that there 
should be lodged, somewhere, a supreme power to regulate and 
govern the general concerns of the confederated republic, with- 
out which the union cannot be of long duration. 

That there must be a faithful and pointed compliance on the 
part of every state with the late proposals and demands of con- 
gress, or the most fatal consequences will ensue — that whate- 
ver measures have a tendency to dissolve the union, or contri- 
bute to violate or lessen the sovereign authority, ought to be 
considered as hostile to the liberty and independency of Ame- 
rica, and the authors of them treated accordingly. And, lastly, 
that unless we can be enabled by the concurrence of the states 
to participate of the fruits of the revolution, and enjoy the es- 
sential benefits of civil society, under a form of government so 
free and uncorrupted, so happily guarded against the danger of 
oppression, as has been devised and adopted by the articles of 
confederation, it will be a subje(Sl of regret, that so much blood 
and treasure have been lavifhed for no parpose ; that so many 
sufferings have been encountered without a compensation, and 
that so many sacrifices have been made in vain. Many other 
considerations might here be adduced to prove, that without an 
entire conformity to the spirit of the union, we cannot exist as 
an independent power. It will be sufficient for my purpose to 
mention but one or two, which seem to me of the greatest im- 
portance. It is only in our united charafter, as an empire, that 
our independence is acknowledged, that our power can be re- 
garded, or our credit supported among foreign nations. The 
treaties of the European powers with the United States of 
America, will have no validity on a dissolution of the union. 
We shall be left nearly in a state of nature, or we may find by 
our own unhappy experience, that there is a natural and neces- 
sary progression from the extreme of anarchy to the extreme 



^ APPENDIX. 

of tyranny ; and that arbitrary power is most easily establishe4 
oil the ruins of liberty abused to licentiousness. 

As to the second article, which respects the pcrfonnance of 
public justice, congress have, in their late address to the United 
States, almost exhausted the subjedt ; they have explained their 
ideas so fully, and have enforced the obligations the states arc 
under to render complete justice to all the public creditors, with 
so much dignity and energy, that, in my opinion, no real friend 
to the honor and independency of America, can hesitate a sin- 
gle moment respe£l>ing the propriety of complying with the just 
and honorable measures proposed. If their arguments do not 
produce convidlion, 1 know of nothing that will have greater 
iufluence, especially when we refleft that the system referred 
to, being the result of the colledled wisdom of the continent, 
must be esteemed, if not perfeft, certainly the least objedliona- 
ble of any that could be devised ; and that, if it fliould not be 
carried into immediate execution, a national bankruptcy, with 
all Its deplorable consequences, will take place befor* any differ- 
ent plan can possibly be proposed or adopted ; so pressing are 
the present circumstances, and such is the alternative now of- 
fered to the states. 

The ability of the country to discharge the debts, which 
have been incurred in its defence, is not to be doubted. And 
inclination, I flatter myself, will not be wanting ; the path of 
our duty is plain before us ; honesty will be found, on every ex- 
periment, to be the best and only true policy. Let us then, as 
a nation, be just ; let us fulfil the public contrails which con- 
gress had undoubtedly a right to make for the purpose of car- 
rying on the Avar, with the same good faith we suppose ourselves 
bound to perform our private engagements. In the mean time 
let an attention to the chearful performance of their proper bu- 
siness, as individual;, and as members of society, be earnestly 
inculcated on the citizens of Au-jerica ; then will they strengthen 
the bands of government, and be happy under its protedlion. 
Every one will reap the fruit of his labors : every one will en- 
joy his own acijuisitionsj without molestation, and without 
danger. 



APPENDIX. t 

In this state of absolute freedom and perfeft security, who 
\i\\\ grudge to yield a very little of his property to support the 
common interests of society, and ensure the prote£lion of go- 
vernment ? Who does not remember the frequent declarations 
at the commencement of the war, That we should be com- 
pletely satisfied, if at the expence of one-half, we could defend 
the remainder of our possessions ? Where is the man to be found, 
who wishes to remain in debt for the defence of his own per- 
son and property to the exertions, the bravery, and the blood 
of others, without making one generous effort to pay the 
debt of honor and of gratitude ? In what part of the continent 
shall we find any man, or body of men, who would not blush 
to stand up, and propose measures purposely calculated to rob 
the soldier of his stipend, and the public creditor of his due ? 
And were it possible that such a flagrant instance of injustice 
could ever happen, would it not excite the general indignation, 
and tend to bring down upon the authors of r.uch measures the 
aggravated vengeance of heaven ? If, after all, a spirit of dis- 
union, or a temper of obstinacy and perverseness should mani- 
fest itself in any of the states ; if such an ungracious disposi- 
tion should attempt to frustrate all the happy eff'ei\s that might 
be expe£led to flow from the union ; if there should be a re- 
fusal to comply with requisitions for funds to discharge the an- 
nual interest of the public debts, and if that refusal should re- 
vive all those jealousies and produce all those evils which are 
now happily removed ; congress, who have in all their trans- 
aftions shewn a great degree of magnanimity and justice, will 
stand justified in the sight of God and man I and that state 
alone, which puts itself in opposition to the aggregate wisdom 
of the continent, and follows such mistaken and pernicious 
councils, will be responsible for all the consequences, 

FoK my own part, conscious of having a£led, while a servant of 
the public, in the manner I conceived best suited to promote the 
real interests of my country ; having in consequence of my fixed 
belief, in some measure, pledged myself to the army, that their 
country would finally do them complete and ample justice, and 
not wishing to conceal any instance of my official conduft from 
the eyes of the world, I have thought proper to transmit to- 



6 APPENDIX. 

your excellency the enclosed colledion of papers, relative ttf 
the half-pay and commutation granted by congress, to the offi- 
cers of the army ; from these communications, my decided sen- 
timent will be clearly comprehended, together with the conclu- 
sive reasons which induced me, at an early period, to recom- 
mend the adoption of this measure in the most earnest and se- 
rious manner. As the proceedings of congress, the army, and 
myself, are open to all, and contain, in my opinion, sufficient 
information to remove the prejudices and errors which may have 
been entertained by any, I think it unnecessary to say any thing 
more, than just to observe, that the resolutions of congress, 
now alluded to, are as undoubtedly and absolutely binding upon 
the United States, as the most solemn a£ls of confederation or 
legislation. 

As to the idea, which I am informed has, in some instances, 
prevailed, that the half-pay and commutation are to be regarded 
merely in the odious light of a pension, it ought to be exploded 
for ever : that provision should be viewed, as it really was, a 
reasonable compensation offered by congress, at a time when 
they had nothing else to give to officers of the army, for ser- 
vices then to be performed. It was the only means to prevent 
a total dereliction of the service. It was a part of their hire ; 
I may be allowed to say, it was the price of their blood, and 
of your independency ^ it is therefore more than a common 
debt ; it is a debt of honor ; it can never be considered as a 
pension, or gratuity, nor cancelled until it is fairly discharged. 

With regard to the dlstinftion between officers and soldiers, 
it is sufficient that the uniform experience of every nation of 
the world, combined with our own, proves the utility and pro- 
priety of the discrimination. Rewards in proportion to the aid 
the public draws from them, are unquestionably due to all its 
servants. In some lines, the soldiers have perhaps generally 
had as ample compensation for their services, by the large boun- 
ties which have been paid them, as their officers will receive in 
the proposed commutation ; in others, if, besides the donation 
of land, the payment of arrearages of clothing and wages (In 
■which articles all the component parts of the army must be put 



APPENDIX. 9 

upon the same footing) we take into the estimate, the bounties 
many of the soldiers have received, and the gratuity of one 
year's full pay, which is promised to all, possibly their situation 
(every circumstance being duly considered) will not be deemed 
less eligible than that of the officers. Should a farther reward, 
however, be judged equitable, I will venture to assert, no man 
will enjoy greater satisfaAion than myself, in an exemption, 
from taxes for a limited time (which has been petitioned for in. 
some instances) or any other adequate immunity or compensa- 
tion granted to the brave defenders of their country's cause. 
But neither the adoption or rejeftion of this proposition, will, 
in any manner, afFeft, much less militate against, the aft of 
congress, by which they have offered five years full pay, in lieu 
of the half pay for life, which had been before promised to the 
officers of the army. 

Before I conclude the subjeft on public justice, I cannot omit 
to mention the obligations this country is under to that meritori- 
ous class of veterans, the non-commissioned officers and privates, 
who have been discharged for inability, in consequence of the 
resolution of congress, of the 23d of April, 1782, on an an- 
nual pension for life : their peculiar suffisrings, their singular 
merits and claims to that provision, need only to be known, to 
interest the feelings of humanity in their behalf: nothing but 
a punftual payment of their annual allowance, can rescue them 
from the most complicated misery ; and nothing could be a more 
melancholy and distressing sight, than to behold those who have 
shed their blood, or lost their limbs in the service of their coun- 
try, without a shelter, without a friend, and without tlTe means 
of obtaining any of the comforts or necessaries of life, compel- 
led to beg their daily bread from door to door. Suffer me to 
recommend those of this description, belonging to your state, 
to the warmest patronage of your excellency and your legisla- 
ture. 

It is necessary to say but a few words on the third topic 
which was proposed, and which regards particularly the defence 
of the republic — As there can be little doubt but congress will 
recommend a proper peace establishment for the United States, 

B 



1^ APPENDIX. 

in which a due attention will be paid to the importance of 
placing the militia of the Union upon a regular and respedablc 
footing. If this should bt* the case, I should beg leave to urge 
tli? great advantage of it in the strongest terras. 

The militia of this country must be considered as the palla-p 
dium of our security, and the first eSeclual resort in case of 
hostility. It is essential, therefore, that the same system should 
pervade the whole ; that the formation and discipline of the 
militia of the continent, should be absolutely uniform ; and 
that the same species of arms, accoutrements, and military ap- 
paratus, sliould be introduced in every part of the United States* 
!No one, who has not learned it from experience, can conceive 
the difficulty, expence, and confusion, which result from a con- 
trary system, or the vague arrangements which have hitherto 
prevailed. 

If, in treating of political points, a greater latitude than 
usual has been taken in the course of the address, the import- 
- ance of the crisis, and the magnitude of the objects in discus- 
sion, must be my apology. It is, however, neither my wish 
nor expeclatipn, that the preceding observations should claim 
arky regar4, except so far as they shall appear to be diftated by 
a good intention, consonant to the immutable rules of justice ; 
calculated to produce a liberal system of policy, aud founded 
on whatever experience may have been acquired by a long and. 
close attention to public business. Here I might speak with 
more confidence, from my actual observations ; and if it would 
not swell this letter (already too prolix) beyond the bounds I 
had presbribed myself, I could demonstrate to every mind, 
op^n to conviclion, than in less time, and with much less ex- 
pense than has been incurred, the war might have been brought 
to the same happy conclusion, if the resources of the continent 
could have been properly called forth ; that the distresses and 
disappointments which have very often occurred, have, in too 
many instances, resulted more from a want of energy in the 
eontineutal government, than a deficiency of means in the par- 
ticular states : that the inefficacy of the measures, arising from 
the want of an ade<{uate authofity in the supreme power, from a. 



APPENDIX. ! I 

partial eompli^nce ^ith the requisitions of congress, in some 
of thie states, atid from a failure of pun(S\uality in 6ther§, -while 
"they tended to damp the zeal of those who were niore -willing 
to exert themselves, served also to accumulate the expences of 
the -war, and to frustrate the best concerted plans ; and that 
the discouragement occasiofied by the complicated difficulties 
and embarrassments, in which our affairs were by this means 
involved, would have long ago produced the dissolution of any 
army, less patient, less virtuous, and less persevering, than that 
which I have had the honor to command. But while I mention 
those things, which are notorious fafts, as the defed^s of our 
federal constitution, particularly in the prosecution of a war, 
I beg it may be understood, that as I have ever taken a plea- 
sure in gratefully acknowledging the ass'stance and support I 
have derived from every class of citizens ; so shall I always be 
happy to do justice to the unparallelled exertions of the indi- 
vidual states, on many iuteresclng occasions. 

I HAVE thus freely disclosed what I wished to make knoivn, 
before I surrendered up my public trust to these who commit- 
ted it to me. The task is now accomplished; I now bid adieu 
to your excellency, as the chief magistrate of your state ; at 
the same time, I bid a last farewel to the cares of office, and 
all tlie employments of public life. 

It remains, then, to be my final and only request, that your 
excellency will communicate these sentiments to your le'gis Fu- 
ture, at their next meeting ; and that they may be considered 
as the legacy of one who has ardently wished, on all occasions, 
to be useful to his country, and who, even in the shade of re- 
tirement, will not fail to implore tht divine benediction upon it, 

I NOW make it my earnest prayer, thait God would have yoil, 
and the state over which you preside, in his holy proteftion ; 
that he would incline the hearts of the citizens to cultivate a 
spirit of subordination and obedience to governmen: ; to enter- 
tain a brotherly affection and love for one another ; for their 
fellow-citizens of the Uflited? States at large, and partficalas-ly 



12 APPENDIX. 

for their brethren who have served in the field ; and, finally, 
that he would most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do 
justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that cha- 
rity, humility, and pacific temper of the mind, which were the 
charaderistics of the divine author of our blessed religion j 
■without an humble imitation of whose example, in these things, 
we can never hope to be a happy nation, 
I have the honor to be, 

with much esteem and respe<n:, 
Sir, 
your excellency's most obedient, 
and most humble servant, 

G«; WASHINGTON. 



(No. II.) 

FAREJVELL jiDDnESS OF GENERAL Wj SIUNGfON TO fHE AR' 
MIES OF THE UNITED STATES, 

RocKi'-HiLLy near Princeton^ 

November "2, 1783. 

THE United States in congress assembled, after giving 
the most honorable testimony to the merits of the federal 
armies, and presenting them with the thanks of their country, 
for their long, eminent and faithful service, having thought pro- 
per, by their proclamation, bearing date the 18th of Odober 
last, to discharge such part of the troops as were engaged for 
the war, and to permit the officers on furlough to retire from 
service, from and after to-morrow ; which proclamation having 
been communicated in the public papers, for the Information 
and government of all concerned, it only remains for the com- 
mander in chief to address himself once moie, and that for t lie 
last time, to the armies of the United States (however widely 



APPENDIX, IS 

dispersed individuals who compose them may be) and to bid them 
an affeftionate — a long farewel. 

But before the commander in chief takes his final leave of 
those he holds most dear, he wishes to indulge himself a few 
moments in calling to mind a slight view of the past : — he will 
then take the liberty of exploring, with his military friends, 
their future prospe£ls ; of advising the general line of conduct 
which in his opinion ought to be pursued ; and he will conclude 
the address, by expressing the obligations he feels himself un- 
der for the spirited and able assistance he has experienced froni 
them, in the performance of an arduous office. 

A CONTEMPLATION of the Complete attainment (at a period 
earlier than could have been expefted) of the objeft for which 
we contended, against so formidable a power, cannot but inspire 
us with astonishment and gratitude. The disadvantageous cir- 
cumstances on our part, imder which the war was undertaken, 
can never be forgotten. The signal interpositions of Provi- 
dence, in our feeble condition, were such as could scarcely- 
escape the attention of the most unobserving ; while the unpa- 
rallelled perseverance of the armies of the United States, through 
almost every possible suffering and discouragement, for the space 
of eight long years, was little short of a standing miracle. 

It is not the meaning, nor within the compass of this ad- 
dress, to detail the hardships peculiarly incident to our service, 
or to describe the distresses which in several instances have re- 
sulted from the extremes of hunger and nakedness, combined 
with the rigors of an inclement season : nor is it necessary to 
dwell on the dark side of our past affairs. 

Every American officer and soldier must now console him- 
self for any iinpleasant circumstance which may have occurred, 
by a recolledion of the uncommon scenes in which he has been 
called to ad no inglorious part, and the astonishing events of 
which he has been a witness — events Avhich have seldom if ever 
before, taken place on the stage of human aclion, nor can they 
probably ever happen again. For who has before seen a disci- 



14 APPEN13IX. 

pHned army formed at once from such raw materials ? Who that 
was not a witness could imagine that the most violent local pre- 
judices would cease so soon, and that men who came from the 
different parts of the continent, strongly disposed by the habits 
of education to despise and quarrel with each other, would in- 
stantly become but one patriotic band of brothers ? Or who that 
was not on the spot, can trace the steps by which such a won- 
derful revolution has been effedled, and such a glorious period 
put to all our warlike toils ? 

It is universally acknowledged, that the enlarged prospf(f^s 
of happiness, opened by the confirmation of our indepf-nd'': ce 
and sovereignty, almost exceed the power of description : and 
shall not the brave men who have contributed so essentially to 
these inestimable acquisitions, retiring viftorlous frcm the field 
of war to the field of agriculture, participate in ali the tIcs-» 
sings which have been obtained ? In such a republic, vho Avill 
exclude them from the rights of citizens, and the fruits of their 
labors ? In such a country, so happily circumstanced, the pur- 
suits of commerce, and the cultivation of the soil, will unfold 

to industry the certain road to competence To those h.irdy 

soldiers who are aftuated by the spirit of adventure, the fishe- 
ries will afford ample and profkable employmenr ; and the ex-r 
tensive and fertile regions of the west, ^vlII yield a mrst happy 
asylum to those who, fond of domestic enjo)ment, ai-e sec-king 
personal independence. Nor is it possible to conceive that any 
one of the United States will prefer a national bankruptcy, and 
the dissolution of the union, to a compliance with the requisi- 
tions of congress, and the payment of its just debts ; so that 
the officers and soldiers may expect considerable assistance, in 
i-e-commencing their civil occujjations, from the sums due to 
them from the public, which must and will most inevitably be 
paid. 

In order to effcfl this desirable purpose, and remove the pre- 
judices which may have taken possession of the minds of any 
of the good people of the states, it is earnestly recommended 
to all the troops, that with strong attachment to the union, 
they should carry with them into civil society the most concili- 



APPENDIX. ' 1^ 

tLt^ng dispositions, and that they should prove themselves not 
less virtuous and useful as citizens, than they have been vi£l<j- 
rious as soldiers. What though there should be some envious 
individuals, who are unwilling to pay the debt the public has 
contracted, or to yield the tribute due to merit, yet, let such 
unworthy treatment produce no invedive, or any instance of 
intemperate condiiiSl. Let it be remembered, that the unbias- 
sed voice of the free citizens of the United States, has pro- 
mised the just reward, and given the merited applause. Let it 
be known and remembered, that the reputation of the federal 
armies is established beyond the reach of malevolence ; and let 
a consciousness of their atchievements and fame, still excite the 
men who composed them to honorable aftions, under the persua- 
sion that the private virtues of economy, prudence and indus- 
try, will not be less amiable in civil life, than the more splen- 
did qualities of valor, perseverance and enterprize were in the 
field. Every one may rest assured that much, very much of the 
future happiness of the officers and men, will depend upon the 
wise and manly conduft which shall be adopted by them, wbea 
they are mingled with the great body of the community. And 
although the general has so frequently given it as his opinion, 
in the most public and explicit manner, that unless the princi- 
ples of the federal government were properly supported, and the 
powers of the union encreased, the honor, dignity and justice 
of the nation would be lost forever : yet he cannot help repeat- 
ing on this occasion so interesting a sentiment, and leaving it 
as his last injunftion to every officer and every soldier who may 
view the subject in the same serious point of light, to add hia 
best endeavors to those of his worthy fellow-citizens, towards 
effecting these great and valuable purposes, on which our very 
existence as a nation so materially depends. 

The commander in chief conceives little is now wanting to 
enable the soldier to change the military charadler into that o€ 
the citizen,- but that steady, decent tenor of behavior, which 
has generally distinguished not only the army under his imme- 
diate command, but the different detachments and armies through 
the course of the war. From their good sense and prudence he 
anticipates the happiest consequences j and while he congratu- 



!6 APPENDIX. 

lates them on the glorious occasion which renders their services 
in the field no longer necessary, he wishes to express the strong 
obligations he feels himself under for the assistance he has re- 
ceived from every class, and in every instance. He presents 
his thanks in the most serious and afFedlionate manner, to the 
general officers, as well for their councils on many interesting 
occasions, as for their ardor in promoting the success of the 
plans he had adopted. To tlie commandants of regiments and 
corps, and to the other officers, for their zeal and attention in 
carrying his orders promptly into execution — to the staff for 
their alacrity and exaflness in performing the duties of their 
several departments ; and to the non-commissioned officers and 
private soldiers, for their extraordinary patience and suffering, 
as well as their invincible fortitude in aftion. To the vari- 
ous branches of the army, the general takes this last and so- 
lemn opportunity of professing his inviolable attachment and 
friendship. — He wishes more than bare professions were in his 
power, that he was really able to be useful to them all In future 
life. He flatters himself, however, they will do him the jus- 
tice to believe that whatever could with propriety be attempted 
by him, has been done. 

And being now to conclude these his last public orders, to 
take his ultimate leave In a short time of the military charac- 
ter, and to bid a final adieu to the armies he has so long had 
the honor to command, he can only again offer In their behalf, 
his recommendations to their grateful country, and his prayers 
to the God of armies. May ample justice be done them here, 
and may the choicest of heaven's favors, both here and hereaf- 
ter attend those who, under the divine auspices, have secured 
innumerable blessings for others. With these wishes, and this 
bencdidion, the commander In chief is about to retire from ser- 
vice. The curtain of separation will soon be drawn, and the 
military scene to him will be closed forever. 



APPENDIX. It 



(No. III.) 

GEORGE JVASHUtCroU fO THE PEOPLE OF 'THE UNITED SfAfESy 
ANNOUNCING HIS INrENriON OF RETIRING FROM PUBLIC 
LIFE, 

Friends and J'ellonv-citizens, 

THE period for a new eledion of a citizen to administer the 
executive government of the United States being not far 
distant, and the time adlually arrived when your thoughts must 
be employed in designating the person, who is to be clothed with 
that important trust, it appears to me proper, especially as it 
may conduce to a more distinct expression of the public voice, 
that I should now apprise you of the resolution I ha've formed, 
to decline being considered among the number of those out oi 
whom a choice is to be made. 

I BEG you at the same time to do me the justice to be as- 
sured, that this resolution has not been taken, without a stridl 
regard to all the considerations appertaining to the relation v/hich 
binds a dutiful citizen to his country ; and that in withdrawing 
the tender of service which silence in my situation will im- 
ply, I am influenced by no diminution of zeal for your future 
interest ; no deficiency of grateful respeft for your past kind- 
ness ; but am supported by a full convidion, that the step is 
compatible with both. 

The acceptance of, and continuance hitherto, in the office to 
which your suffrages has twice called me, have been an uniform 
sacrifice of inclination to the opinion of duty, and to a defer- 
ence for what appeared to be your desire. I constantly hoped 
that it would have been much earlier in my power, consistently 
with motives, which I was not at liberty to disregard, to return 
to that retirement from which I had been reludantly drawn. 
The strength of my inclination to do this, previous to the last 
election, had even led to the preparation of an address to de- 
clare it to you ; but mature reflection on the then perplexed and 
critical posture of our affairs with foreign nations, and the una- 

C . 



18 ' APPENDIX. 

nimous advice of persons entitled to my confidence, impelled 
me to abandon the idea» 

I REJOICE that the state of your concerns, external as well 
as internal, no longer renders the pursuit of inclination incom- 
patible with the sentiment of duty or propriety : and am per- 
suaded -whatever partiality may be retained for my services, that 
in the present circumstances of our country, you will not dis- 
approve of my determination to retire. 

The impressions with which I first undertook the arduous 
trust were explained on the proper occasion. — In the discharge 
of this trust I will only say, that I have with good intentions 
contributed towards the organization and administration of the 
government, the best exertions of which a very fallible judg- 
ment was capable. — Not unconscious, in the out-set, of the in- 
feriority of any qualifications, experience in my own eyes, per- 
haps still more in the eyes of others, has strengthened the mo- 
tives to diffidence of myself; and every day the encreasing 
weight of years admonishes me more and more, that the shade 
of retirement is as necessary to me as it it will be welcome. 
Satisfied that if any circumstances have given peculiar value to 
my services, they were temporary, I have the consolation to be- 
lieve, that while choice and prudence invite me to quit the po- 
litical scene, patriotism does not forbid it. 

In looking forward to the moment which is intended to tcr- 
niinate the career of my public life, my feelings do not permit 
me to suspend the deep acknowledgment of that debt of grati- 
tude which I owe to my beloved country, for the many honors 
it has conferred upon me ; still more for the stedfast confidence 
with Avhich it has supported me ; and for the opportunities I 
have thence enjoyed of manifesting my inviolable attachment, 
by services faithful and persevering, though in usefulness une- 
qual to my zeal. If benefits have resulted to our country from 
these services, let it always be remembered to your praise, and 
as an insiruftive example in our annals, that under circum- 
stances in which the passions, agitated in every direftion, were 
liable to mislead amidst appearances sometimes dubious— vicis- 



APPENDIX. 19 

sjtudes of fortune often discouraging — in situations in which not 
unfrequently want of success has countenanced the spirit of cri- 
ticism — the constancy of your support was the essential prop of 
the efforts, and a guarantee of the plans by which they were 
efFeded. Profoundly penetrated with this idea, I shall carry it 
•with me to my grave, as a strong incitement to unceasing wishes, 
that heaven may continue to you the choicest tokens of its be- 
neficence — that your union and brotherly affeftion may be per- 
petual — that the free constitution, which is the work of your 
hands, may be sacredly maintained — that its administration in 
every department may be stamped with wisdom and virtue— 
that, in fine, the happiness of the people of these states, un- 
der the auspices of liberty, may be made complete, by so care- 
ful a preservation and so prudent a use of this blessing, as will 
acquire to them the glory of recommending it to the applause, 
the aflfeAion and the adoption of every nation which is yet a 
stranger to it. 

Here, perhaps, I ought to stop. But a solicitude, for your 
welfare, which cannot end but with my life, and the apprehen- 
sion of danger, natural to that solicitude, urge me, on an oc- 
casion like the present, to offer to your solemn contemplation, 
and to recommend to your frequent review, some sentiments, 
which are the result of much reflexion, of no inconsiderable ob- 
servation, and which appear to me all important to the perma- 
nency of your felicity as a people. These will be offered to 
you with the more freedom, as you can only see in them the dis- 
interested warnings of a parting friend, who can possibly have 
no personal motive to bias his counsel. Nor can I forget, as 
an encouragement to it, your indulgent reception of my senti- 
ments on a former and not dissimilar occasion. 

Interwoven as is the love of liberty with every ligament 
of your hearts, no recommendation of mine is necessary to for- 
tify or confirm the attachment. 

The unity of government, which constitutes you one people, 
is also now dear to you. It is justly so ; for it is a main pll- 



30 APPENDIX. 

lar in the edifice of your real independence ; the support of your 
tranquillity at home ; your peace abroad ; of your safety, of 
your prosperity ; of that very liberty which you so highly prize. 
But as it is easy to foresee, that from different causes and from 
different quarters^ much pains will be taken, many artifices em- 
ployed to weaken in your minds the conviclion of this truth. 
As this is the point in your political fortress against which the 
batteries of internal and external enemies will be most con- 
stantly and actively (though often covertly and insidiously) di- 
reifl^ed, it is of infinite moment, that you should properly esti- 
mate the immense value of your national union, to your collec- 
tive and individual happiness ; that you should cherish a cordial, 
habitual and immovable attachment to it ; accustoming your- 
selves to think and speak of It as of the palladium of your politi- 
cal safety and prosperity ; watching for its preservation with 
jealous anxiety ; discountenancing whatever may suggest even 
a suspicion that it can in anj' event be abandoned ; and indig- 
nantly frowning upon the first dawning of every attempt to ali- 
enate any portion of our country from the rest, or to enfeeble 
the sacred ties which now link together the various parts. 

For this you have every inducement of sympathy and inte- 
rest. Citizens by birth or choice, of a common country, that 
country has a right to concentrate your affe<5lions. The name 
of American, which belongs to you in your national capacity, 
must always exalt the just pride of patriotism, more than any 
appellation derived from local discriminations. With slight 
shades of difference, you have the same religion, manners, ha- 
bits, and political principles. You have in a common cause 
fought and triumphed together ; the independence and liberty 
you possess, are the work of joint councils, and joint efforts, 
of common dangers, sufferings and successes. 

But these considerations, however powerfully they address 
themselves to your sensibility, are greatly outweighed by those 
which apply more immediately to your interest. Here every 
portion of our country finds the most commanding motives for 
carefully guarding and preserving the union of the whole. 



APPENDIX. 31 

The north, in an unrestrained intercourse -with the south, 
protefted by the equal laws of a common government, finds in 
the produftions of the latter, great additional resources of ma- 
ritime and commercial enterprize and precious materials of ma- 
nufafturing industry. The south in the same intercourse, be- 
nefiting by the agency of the north, sees its agriculture grow 
and its commerce expand. Turning partly into its ov>rn chan- 
nels the seamen of the north, it finds its particular navigation 
Invigorated — and while it contributes, in different ways, to nou- 
rish and increase the general mass of the national navigation, 
it looks forward to the proteftion of a maritime strength, to 
which itself is unequally adapted. The east, in like intercourse 
■with the west, already finds, and in the progressive improve- 
ment of interior communications, by land and water, will more 
and more find a valuable vent for the commodities Avhich it 
brings from abroad, or manufaclures at home. The west de- 
rives from the east supplies requisite to its growth and com- 
fort — and what is perhaps of still greater consequence, it must 
of necessity ov/e the secure enjoyment of indispensible outlets 
for its own productions to the weight, influence, and the future 
maritime strength of the atlantic side of the union, direded by 
an indissoluble community of interest as one nation. Any other 
tenure by which the west can hold this essential advantage, 
■whether derived from its own separate strength, or from an 
apostate and unnatural connexion with any foreign power must 
be intrinsically precarious. 

While then every part of our country thus feels an imme- 
diate and particular interest in union, all the parties combined 
cannot fail to find in the united mass of means and efforts, 
greater strength, greater resource, proportlonably greater secu- 
rity from external danger, a less frequent interruption of their 
peace by foreign nations ; and, what is of inestimable value, 
they must derive from union an exemption from those broils and 
■wars between themselves -which so frequently affliifl neighbor- 
ing countries, not tied together by the same government ; which 
their own rivalships alone would be sufficient to produce, but 
•which opposite foreign alliances, attachments and intrigues, 
would stimulate and embitter. Kence likewise thev will avoid 



22 APPENDIX. 

the necessity of those overgrown military establishments, which 
under any form of government are inauspicious to liberty, and 
■which are to be regarded as particularly hostile to republican 
liberty : In this sense it is, that your union ought to be consi- 
dered as a main prop of your liberty, and that the love of the 
one ought to endear you to the preservation of the other. 

These considerations speak a persuasive language to every 
refledling and virtuous mind, and exhibit the continuance of the 
union as a primary objedl of patriotic desire. Is there a doubt 
•whether a common government can embrace so large a sphere ? 
Let experience solve it. To listen to mere speculation in such 
a case were criminal. We are authorized to hope that a proper 
organization of the whole, with the auxiliary agency of go- 
vernments for the respeftive subdivisions, will afford a happy 
issue to the experiment. 'Tis well worth a fair and full expe- 
riment. With such powerful and obvious motives to union, af- 
fedling all parts of our country, while experience shall not have 
demonstrated its impradlicability, there will always be reason to 
distrust the patriotism of those, who in any quarter may endea- 
vor to weaken its bands. 

In contemplating the causes which may disturb our union, it 
occurs as a matter of serious concern, that any ground should 
have been furnished for charafterizing parties by geographical 
discriminations— northern and southern — atlanjlc and western : 
whence designing men may endeavor to excite a belief that 
there is a real difference of local interests and views. One of 
the expedients of party to acquire influence, within particular 
distrifts, is to misrepresent the opinions and aims of other dis- 
trlAs. You cannot shield yourselves too much against the jea- 
lousies and heart-burnings which spring from these misrepre-- 
sentations : they tend to render alien to each other, those who 
ought to be bound together by fraternal affeftion. The inhabi- 
tants of our western country have lately had a useful lesson on 
this head : they have seen, in the negociation by the executive, 
and in the unanimous ratification by the senate, of the treaty 
with Spain, and in the universal satlsfadlion at that event, 
throughout the United Staies, a decisive proof how unfounded 



APPNNDIX. S3 

were the suspicions propagated among them of a policy in the 
general government, and in the atlantic states, unfriendly to 
their interests in regard to the Mississippi : they have been wit- 
nesses to the formation of two treaties, that with Great-Britain 
and that with Spain, which secure to them every thing they 
could desire, in respeft to our foreign relations, towards con- 
firming their prosperity. Will it not be their wisdom to rely 
for the preservation of these advantages on the union by which 
they were procured ? Will they not henceforth be deaf to those 
advisers, if such there are, who would sever them from their 
brethren, and conne*St them with aliens? 

To the efficacy and permanency of your union, a government 
for the whole is indispensible. No allianqes, however strict, be- 
tween the parts can be an adequate substitute ; they must inevi- 
tably experience the infradlions and interruptions which all al- 
liances in all times have experienced. Sensible of this moment- 
ous truth, you have improved upon your first essay, by the adop- 
tion of a constitution of government, better calculated than 
your former, for an intimate union, and for the efficacious ma- 
nagement of your common concerns. This government, the 
offspring of our own choice, uninfluenced and unawed, adopted 
upon full investigation and mature deliberation, completely free 
in its principles, in the distribution of its powers, uniting se- 
curity with energy, and containing within itself a provision for 
its own amendments, has a just claim to your confidence and 
your support. — Respe£l for its authority, compliance with its 
laws, acquiescence in its measures, are duties enjoined by the 
fundamental maxims of true liberty. The basis of our politi- 
cal systems is the right of the people to make and to alter their 
constitutions of government. — But the constitution which at 
any time exists, until changed by an explicit and authentic adl 
of the whole people, is sacredly obligatory upon all. The very 
idea of the power and the right of the people to establish a go- 
vernment, pre-supposes the duty of every individual to obey the 
established government. 

All obstruAIons to the execution of the laws, all combina- 
tions and associations, under whatever plausible charafter, with 



24 APPENDIX. 

the real design to direct, control, counteracl, or awe tlie regu- 
lar deliberation and adtion of the constituted authorities, are 
destriiclive of this fundamental principle, and of fatal tendency. 
They serve to organize faction, to give it an artificial and ex- 
traordinary force, to put in the place of the delegated will of 
the nation, the will of a party, often a small, but artful and en- 
erpriziug minority of the community ; and according to the al- 
ternate triumphs of different parties, to make the public admi- 
nistration the mirror of the ill-concerted and incongruous pro- 
jeAs of faction, rather than the organ of consistent and whole- 
some plans, digested by common councils, and modified by mu- 
tual interests. 

However combinations or associations of the above descrip- 
tion may now and tben answer popular ends, they are likely in 
the course of time and things to become potent engines, by 
which cunning, ambitious, and unprincijiled men, will be ena- 
bled to subvert the power of the people, and to usurp for them- 
selves the reins of government ; destroying afterwards the very 
engines which have lifted tiiem to unjust dominion. 

Towards the preservation of your government, and the per- 
manency of your present happy state, it is requisite not only 
that you speedily discountenance irregular oppositions to its ac- 
knowledged authority, but also that you resist with care the 
spirit of innovation upon its principles however specious the 
pretexts. One method of assault may be to effe£l in the forms 
of the constitution alterations which will impair the energy of 
the system, and thus to undermine what cannot be diredlly over- 
thrown. In all the changes to which you may be Invited, re- 
member that time and habit are at least as necessary to fix the 
true charafter of governments; as of other human institutions — 
that experience is the surest standard, by which to test the real 
tendency of the existing constitution of a country — that faci- 
lity in changes upon the credit of mere hypothesis and opinion, 
exposes to perpetual change, from the endless variety of hypo- 
thesis, and opinion ; and remember, especially that for the effi- 
cient management of your common interests, in a country so 
extensive as ours, a government of as much vigor as is consist- 



Appendix, 25 

eiit with the perfeft security of liberty. Is indispensible. Li- 
berty itself will find in suoh a government, with powers pro- 
perly distributed and adjusted, its surest guardian. It is, in- 
deed, little else than a name, where the government is too fee- 
ble to withstand the enterprizes of faftion, to confine each mem- 
ber of the society within the limits prescribed by the laws, and 
to maintain all in the secure and tranquil enjoyment of the 
rights of person and property. 

I HAVE already intimated to you, the danger of parties in 
the state, with particular reference to the founding of them on. 
geographical discriminations. Let me now take a more com- 
prehensive view, and warn you in the most solemn manner 
against the baneful efFeds of the spirit of party, generally. 

This spirit, unfortunately, is inseparable from our nature, 
having its root in the strongest passions of the human mind. 
It exists under different shapes in all governments, more or lesS 
Stifled, controlled, or repressed ; but in those of the popular 
form, it is seen in its greatest rankness, and is truly their worst 
enemy. 

The alternate dorhination of one fadlion over another, sharp- 
ened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissention, which 
in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid 
enormities, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads at 
length to a more formal and permanent despotism. The disor- 
ders and miseries which result, gradually incline the minds of 
men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an in- 
dividual : and sooner or later the chief of some prevailing fac- 
tion, more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns 
this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ru- 
ins of public liberty. 

Without looking forward to an extremity of this kind 
(which nevertheless ought not to be out of sight) the common 
and continual mischiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient td 
make it the interest and duty of a wise people to discourage and 
restrain it. 

D 



26 APPENDIX. 

It serves always to distradl the public councils and enfeeble 
the public administration. It agitates the community with ill- 
iounded jealousies and false alarms : kindles the animosity of 
one part against another, foments occasionally riot and insur- 
reclion. It opens the door to foreign influence and corruption, 
which find a facilitated access to the government itself through 
the channels of party passions. Thus the policy and the "will 
of one country ai-e subjected to the policy and will of another. 

Thkre is an opinion that parties in free countries are useful 
checks upon the administration of the government, and serve 
to keep alive the spirit of liberty. This within certain limits 
is probably true ; and in governments of a monarchical cast, pa- 
triotism may look with indulgence, if not with favor, upon the 
spirit of party. But in those of the popular chara£ler, in go- 
vernments purely ele£tive, it is a spirit not to be encouraged. 
From their natural tendency, it is certain there will always be 
enough of that spirit for every salutary purpose. And there be- 
ing constant danger of excess, the effort ought to be, by force 
of public opinion to mitigate and assauge it. A fire not to be 
quenched ; it demands a uniform vigilance to prevent its burst- 
ing into a flame, lest instead of warming it should consume. 

It is important, likewise, that the habits of thinking, in a 
free country, should inspire caution, in those entrusted with its 
administration, to confine themselves within their respedlive 
constitutional spheres, avoiding in the exercise of the powers of 
one department to encroach upon another. — The spirit of en- 
croachment tends to consolidate the powers of all the depart- 
ments in one, and thus lo create, whatever the form of govern- 
ment, a real despotism. A just estimate of that love of power, 
and proneness to abuse it, which predominates in the human 
heart, is sufficient to satisfy us of the truth of this position. 
The necessity of reciprocal checks in the exercise of political 
power ; by dividing and distributing it into different depositaries, 
and constituting each the guardian of the public weal against 
invasions by the others, has been evinced by experiments an- 
tienc and modern : some of them in our country and under our 



APPENDIX. 27 

own eyes. To preserve them must be as necessary as to insti- 
tute them. If, in the opinion of the people, the distribution 
or modification of the constitutional powers, be in any parti- 
cular wrong, let it be corredted by an amendment in the way 
which the constitution designates. But let there be no change 
by usurpation ; for though this in one instance may be the in- 
strument of good, it is the customary weapon by which free 
governments are destroyed. The precedent must always greatly 
overbalance in permanent evil, any partial or transient benefit 
which the use can at any time yield. 

Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political pros- 
perity, religion and morality are indispensible supports. In 
vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should 
labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness — these 
firmest props of the duties of men and citizens. The mere po- 
litician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to 
cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connexions 
with private and public felicity. Let it simply be asked, where 
is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense 
of religious obligation desert the oaths, which are the instru- 
ments of investigation in courts of justice ? And let us with 
caution indulge the supposition, that morality can be maintained 
■without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence 
of refined education on minds of peculiar strufture ; reason and 
experience both forbid us to expedl that national morality can 
prevail in exclusion of religious principles. 

It is substantially true, that virtue or morality is a necessary 
spring of popular government. The rule indeed extends with 
more or less force to every species of free government. Who 
that is a sincere friend to it can look with indifference upon at- 
tempts to shake the foundation of the fabric ? 

Promote, then, as an objed of primary importance, insti- 
tutions for the general diffusion of knowledge. In proportion 
as the struclure of a government gives force to public opinion, 
it is essential that public opinion should be enlightened. 



28 APPENDIX. 

As a very important source of strength and security, cherish 
public credit. One method of preserving it is to use it as spa- 
ringly as possible ; avoiding occasions of expence by cultivat- 
ing peace, but remembering also that timely disbursements to 
prepare for danger, frequently prevent much greater disburse- 
ments to repel it; avoiding likewise the accumulation of debt, 
not only by shunning occasions of expence, but by vigorous ex- 
ertions in time of peace to discharge the debts which unavoida- 
ble wars may have occasioned, not ungenerously throwing upon 
posterity the burthen which we ourselves ought to bear. The 
execution of these maxims belongs to your representatives, 
but it is necessary that public opinion should co-operate. To 
facilitate to them the performance of their duty, it is essential 
that you should practically bear in mind, that towards the pay- 
ment of debts there must be revenue ; that to have revenue 
there must be taxes ; that no taxes can be devised which are 
not more or less inconvenient and unpleasant ; that the intrin- 
sic embarrassment inseparable from the sele£tion of the proper 
obje£ls (which is always a choice of difficulties) ought to be a 
decisive motive for a candid construdllon of the condudl of the 
government in making it, and for a spirit of acquiescence in the 
measures for obtaining revenue which the public exigencies may 
at any time didlate. 

Observe good faith and justice towards all nations, culti- 
vate peace and harmony with all ; religion and morality enjoin 
this conduft ; and can it be that good policy does not equally 
enjoin it ? It will be worthy of a free, enlightened, and at no 
distant period a great nation, to give to mankind the magnani- 
mous and too novel example of a people always guided by an 
exalted justice and benevolence.— Wl^o can doubt that in the 
course of time and things the fruits of such a plan would richly 
repay any temporary advantages which might be lost by a steady 
adherence to it ? Can it be, that Providence has not connected 
■^he permanent felicity of a nation with its virtue ? The expe- 
riment, at least, is recommended by every sentiment which en- 
nobles human nature. Alas ! is it rendered impossible by its 



APPENDIX. t9 

lij the execution of such a plan, nothing Is more essential 
than that permanent, inveterate antipathies against particular 
nations, ajid passionate attachments for others should be ex> 
eluded ; and that in place of them just and amicable feelings 
towards all should be cultivated. The nation, -which indulges 
towards another an habitual hatred, or an habitual fondness, is 
in some degree a slave. It is a slave to its animosity or to its 
afFedion, either of which is sufficient to lead it astray from its 
duty and its interest.— Antipathy in one nation against another, 
disposes each more readily to offer insult and injury, to lay hold 
of slight causes of umbrage, and to be haughty and intradla- 
ble, when accidental or trifling occasions of dispute occur. 

Hence frequent collisions, obstinate, envenomed, and bloody 
contests. The nation, prompted by ill-will and resentment, 
fometimes impels to war the government, contrary to the best 
calculations of policy. The government sometimes participates 
in the national propensity, and adopts through passion what rea- 
fon would rejedl ; at other times, it makes the animosity of the 
nation subservient to projecls of hostility instigated by pride, 
ambition, and other sinister and pernicious motives. The peac<? 
often, and sometimes, perhaps, the liberty of nations has been 
the viftlm. 

So, likewise, a passionate attachment of one nation for ano= 
ther, produces a variety of evils. Sympathy for the favorite 
nation facilitating the illusion of an imaginary common interest 
in cases where no real common interests exists, and infusing 
into one the enmities of the other, betrays the former into a 
participation in the quarrels and wars of the latter, without 
adequate inducement or justification. It leads also to conces- 
sions, to the favorite nation, of privileges denied to others, which 
are apt doubly to injure the nation making the concessions : by 
unnecessarily parting with what ought to have been retained ; 
and by exciting jealousy, ill-will, and a disposition to retaliate, 
in the parties from whom equal privileges are withheld : and it 
gives to ambitious, corrupted or deluded citizens (who devote 
themselves to the favorite nation) facility to betray, or sacri- 
fice the interests of their own country, without odium, scme-^ 



30 APPENDIX. 

times even with popularity ; gilding v/ith the appearances of a 
virtuous sense of obligation, a coniniendable deference for pub- 
lic opinion, or laudable zeal for public good, the base or fool- 
ish compliances of ambition, corruption, or infatuation. 

As avenues to foreign influence in innumerable t\'ays, such 
attachments are particularly alarming to the truly enlightened 
and independent patriot. How many opportunities do they af- 
ford to tamper with domestic factions, to praftlse the arts of 
sedu£lion, to mislead public opinion, to Influence or awe the 
public councils? Such an attachment of a small or weak, to- 
wards a great and powerful nation, dooms the former to be the 
satellite of the latter. Against the insidious wiles of foreign 
influence (I conjure you to believe me, fellow-citizens) the jea- 
lousy of a free people ought to be constantly awake ; since his- 
tory and experience prove that foreign influence is one of the 
most baneful foes of republican government. But that jealousy 
to be useful must be Impartial ; else it becomes the Instrument 
of the very influence to be avoided, instead of a defence against 
it. Excessive partiality for one foreign nation, and excessive 
dislike of another, cause those whom they actuate to see dan- 
ger only on one side, and serve to veil and even second the arts 
of influence on the other. Real patriots, who may resist the 
intrigues of the favorite, are liable to become suspefted and 
odious ; v;hlle its tools and dupes usurp the applause and confi- 
dence of the people, to surrender their interests. 

The great rule of conduft for us, in regard to foreign na- 
tions, is in extending our commercial relations, to have with 
them as little political conneclion as possible. So far as we 
have already formed engagements, let them be fulfilled with per- 
fect good faith. Here let us stop. 

Europe has a set of primary interests, which to us have 
none, or a very remote relation. Hence she must be engaged 
in frequent controversies, the causes of which are essentially 
foreign to our concerns. Hence, therefore, it must be unwise 
in us to implicate ourselves by artificial ties, in the ordinary 



APPENDIX. 31 

vicissitudes of her politics, or the ordinary combinations and 
collisions of her friendships or enmities. 

Our detached and distant situation, invites and enables us to 
pursue a different course. If we remain one people, under an 
efficient government, the period is not far off, when we may- 
defy material injury from external annoyance ; when we may 
take such an attitude as will cause the neutrality we may at any 
time resolve upon, to be scrupulously respected ; when belli- 
gerent nations, under the impossibility of making acquiiitions 
upon us, will not lightly hazard the giving us provocation ; 
•when we may choose peace or war, as our intercat, guided by 
justice, shall counsel. 

' Why forego the advantages of so peculiar a situation ? Why 
quit our own to stand upon foreign ground ? Why, by inter- 
weaving our destiny with that of any part of Europe, entan- 
gle our peace and prosperity in the toils of European ambition, 
rivalship, interest, humor or caprice ? 

'Tis our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances 
with any portion of the foreign world ; so far, I mean, as we 
are now at liberty to do it ; for let me not be understood as ca- 
pable of patronizing infidelity to existing engagements. I hold 
the maxim no less applicable to public than to private affairs, 
that honesty is always the best policy. I repeat it, therefore, 
let those engagements be observed in their genuine sense. But 
in my opinion, it is unnecessary, and would be unwise, to ex- 
tend them. 

Taking care always to keep ourselves, by suitable establish- 
ments, on a respeftable defensive posture, we may safely trust 
to temporary alliances for extraordinary emergencies. 

Harmony, liberal intercourse with all nations, are recom- 
mended by policy, humanity and interest. But even our com- 
mercial policy should hold an equal and impartial hand ; neither 
seeking nor granting exclusive favors or preferences ; consult- 



32 APPENDIX. 

ing the natural course of things ; diffusing and diversifying by 
gentle means the streams of commence, but forcing nothing ; 
establishing, with powers so disposed, in order to give trade a 
stable course, to define the rights of our merchants, and to ena- 
ble the government to support them ; conventional rules of in- 
tercourse, the best that present circumstances and mutual opi- 
nion -will permit, but temporary, and liable to be from time to 
time abandoned or varied, as experience and circumstances shall 
didatc ; constantly keeping in view, that it is folly in one na- 
tion to look for disinterested favors from another ; that it must 
pay with a portion of its independence for whatever it may ac- 
cept under that charaAer ; that by such acceptance, it may please 
Itself in the condition of having given equivalents for nominal 
favors, and yet of being reproached with ingratitude for not 
giving more. There can be no greater error than to expeft, or 
calculate upon real favors from nation to nation. 'Tis an illu- 
sion which experience must cure, which a just pride ought to 
discard. 

In offering to you, my countrymen, these counsels of an old 
and affedionate friend, I dare not hope they will make the strong 
and lasting impression I could wish — that they will control the 
usual current of the passions, or prevent our nation from run- 
ning the course which has hitherto marked the destiny of na- 
tions. But if I may even flatter myself, that they may be pro- 
duAlve of some partial benefit, some occasional good ; that 
they may now and then recur to moderate the fury of party spi- 
rit, to warn against the mischiefs of foreign intrigues, to guard 
against the Impostures of pretended patriotism ; this hope will 
be a full recompence for the solicitude for your welfare, by 
which they have been dilated. 

How far in the discharge of my official duties, I have beeri 
guided by the principles which have been delineated, the public 
•ecords and other evidences of my condu£l must witness to you 
and to the world. To myself, the assurance of my own con- 
science is, that I have at least believed myself to be guided by 
them. 



APPENDIX. S3 

In relation to the still subsisting war in Europe, my procla- 
mation of the 22d of April, 1793, is the index to my plan. 
Sanctioned by your approving voice, and by that of your repre- 
sentatives in both houses of congress, the spirit of that mea- 
sure has continually governed me ; uninfluenced by any attempts 
to deter or divert me from it. 

After deliberate examination, with the aid of the best lights 
I could obtain, I was well satisfied that our country, under all 
the circumstances of the case, had a right to take, and was 
bound in duty and interest to take, a neutral position. Hav- 
ing taken it, I determined, as far as should depend upon me, 
to maintain it, with moderation, perseverance and firmness. 

The considerations which respedl the right to hold this con- 
duft, it is not necessary on this occasion to detail. I will only 
observe, that according to my understanding of the matter, that 
right, so far from being denied by any of the belligerent pow- 
ers, has been virtually admitted by all. 

The duty of holding a neutral conduit may be inferred, 
without any thing more, from the obligations which justice and 
humanity impose on every nation, in cases in which it is free 
to adt, to maintain inviolate the relations of peace and amity 
towards other nations. 

The inducements of interest for observing that conduit 
will best be referred to your own refleftions and experience. 
"With me, a predominant motive has been to endeavor to gain 
time to our country to settle and mature its yet recent institu- 
tions, and to progress, without interruption, to that degree of 
strength and consistency, which is necessary to give it, hu- 
manly speaking, the command of its own fortunes. 

Though in reviewing the incidents of my administration, I 
am unconscious of intentional error ; I am nevertheless too sen- 
sible of my defedts not to think it probable that I may have 
committed many errors. Whatever they may be, I fervently 



Si APPENDIX. 

beseech the Almighty to avert or mitigate the evils to which 
they may tend. I shall also carry with me the hope that my 
country will never cease to view them with indulgence ; and 
that after forty-five years of my life dedicated to its service, 
with an upright zeal, the faults of incompetent abilities will 
be consigned to oblivion, as myself must soon be to the man- 
sions of rest. 

Relying on Its kindness In this as In other things, and ac- 
tuated by that fervent love towards it, which is so natural to a 
man who views in it the native soil of himself and his proge- 
nitors for several generations ; I anticipate with pleasing ex- 
pedlatlon that retreat, In which I promise myself to realize, 
without alloy, the sweet enjoyment of partaking, in the midst 
of my fellow-citizens, the benign Influence of good laws under 
a fi-ee government — the ever favorite objeifl of my heart, and 
the happy reward and trust, of our mutual cares, labors and 
dangers. 

United States, Sept. 17, 1796. 



(No. IV.) 

A LETTER FROM HIS EKCELLEVCT GeORGE IVaSIIIKCTO^, TO 
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, ON ACCEPTING 
THE APPOINTMENT OF COMMANDER IN CHIEF OF THE AR- 
MIES OF THE UNITED STATES, 

Mount Vernon, ^uly 13, 179S. 

DEAR SIR, 

I HAD tiie honor, on the evening of the 1 1th Instant, to re- 
ceive from the hand of the secretary of war, your favor of 
the 7th, announcing that you had, with the advice and consent 
of the senate, appointed me ♦' lieutenant-general and com- 
mander In chief of all the armies raised or to be raised for the 
service of the United States." 



APPENDIX. 35 

I CANNOT express how greatly affeclcd I am at this new proof 
of public confidence, and the highly flattering manner in which 
you have been pleased to make the comm.unlcation ; at the same 
time I must not conceal from you my earnest wish, that the 
choice had fallen upon a man less declined in years, and better 
qualified to encounter the usual vicissitudes of war. 

You know, Sir, what calculation I had made relative to the 
probable course of events, on my retiring from office, and the 
determination I had consoled myself with, of closing the rem- 
nant of my days in my present peaceful abode : you will there- 
fore be at no loss to conceive and appreciate the sensations I 
must have experienced, to bring my mind to any conclusion 
that would pledge me, at so late a period of life, to leave scenes 
I sincerely love, to enter upon the boundless field of public ac- 
tion, incessant trouble, and high responsibility. 

It was not possible for me to remain Ignorant of, or indif- 
ferent to, recent transadions. The condudl of the diredory of 
France towards our country ; their insidious hostility to its go- 
vernment ; their various praftices to withdraw tfie affections of 
the people from it ; the evident tendency of their a£\s and those 
of their agents to countenance and invigorate opposition ; their 
disregard of solemn treaties and the laws of nations ; tlieir war 
upon our defenceless commerce ; their treatment of our mi- 
nisters of peace ; and their demands, amounting to tribute, 
could not fail to excite in me corresponding sentiments with 
those my countrymen, have so generally expressed in their af- 
fedionate addresses to you. Believe me, Sir, no one can more 
cordially approve of the wise and prudent measures of your ad- 
ministration. — They ought to inspire universal confidence, and 
will, no doubt, combined with the state of things, call from 
congress such laws and means as will enable you to meet the 
full force and extent of the crisis. 

Satisfied, therefore, that you have sincerely wished and 
endeavored to avert war, and exhausted, to the last drop, the 
cup of reconciliation, we can with pure hearts appeal to hea- 
ven for the justice of our cause : and may confidently trust the 



56 APPENDIX. 

final result to that kind Providence who has heretofore, and so 
often, signally favored the people of these United States. 

Thinking in this manner, and feeling how incumbent it is 
upon every person of every description, to contribute at all times 
to his country's welfare, and especially in a moment like the 
present, when every thing we hold dear and sacred is so seri- 
ously threatened ; I have finally determined to accept the com- 
mission of commander in chief of the armies of the United 
States ; with the reserve only, that I shall not be called into 
the field until the army is in a situation to require my presence, 
or it becomes indispensible by the urgency of circumstances. 

In making this reservation, I beg it to be understood, that I 
do not mean to withhold any assistance to arrange and organ- 
ize the army, which you may think I can afford. I take the li- 
berty also to mention, that I must decline having my accept- 
ance considered as drawing after it any Immediate charge upon 
the public ; or that I can receive any emoluments annexed to 
the appointment, before entering into a situation to incur ex- 
pence. 

The secretary of war being anxious to return to the seat of 
p-overnment, I have detained him no longer than was necessary 
to a full communication upon the several points he had in 
charge. 

I have the honor to be. Sec. Sec. 

G« : WASHINGTON. 



APPENDIX. sr 

(No. V.) 

Gen. WASHINGTON'S WILL. 



VIRGINIA^ Fairfax^ ss. 

J, George Dene ale, clerk of Fairfax county court., docertifyy 
That the subsequent copy of the loft will and testament of 
George WASHJUCfONf deceased, late president of the United 
States of America^ with the schedule annexed) is a true copy 
from the original recorded in my office. 

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my band this 
2Zd day of January^ 1800. 

GEO. DENE ALE, C, F. C, 



JN THE NAME OF GOD^ Amen. 

I GEORGE WASHINGTON, of Mount Vernon, a citizen 
of the United States, and lately president of the same, Do 
make, ordain and declare this instrument, which is written with 
my own hand, and every page thereof subscribed with my name*, 
to be my last will and testament, revoking all others, 

Imprimus, — AH my debts, of which there are but few, and 
none of magnitude, are to be punftually and speedily paid ; and 
the legacies herein after bequeathed, are to be discharged as 
soon as circumstances will permit, and in the manner directed. 

Item. — To my dearly beloved wife, Martha Washington, I 
give and bequeath the use, profit and benefit of my whole estate, 

* In the original manuscript, George JVashincton's name 
is written at the bottom of every page. 



3S APPENDIX. 

real and personal, for the term of her natural life, except such 
parts thereof as are specially disposed of hereafter. My im- 
proved lot in the tov/n of Alexandria, situated on Pitt and Ca- 
meron streets, I give to her and her heirs for ever ; as I also 
do my houshold and kitchen furniture of every sort and kind, 
with the liquors and groceries which may be- en hand at the time 
of my decease, to be used and disposed of as she may think pro- 
per. 

Item. — Upon the decease of my wife, it is my will and desire, 
that all the slaves which I hold in viy avn right, shall receive 
their freedom. To emancipate them during her life, would, 
though earnestly wished by me, be attended with such insupe- 
rable difficulties on account of their intermixture by marriages 
with the dower negroes, as to excite the most painful sensa- 
tions, if not disagreeable consequences to the latter, while both 
descriptions are in the occupancy of the same proprietor, it not 
being in my power, under the tenure by which the dower ne- 
groes are held, to manumit them. And whereas among those 
who will receive freedom according to this devise, there may- 
be some who, from old age or bodily infirmities, and others who, 
on account of their infancy, will be unable to support them- 
selves, it is my will and desire, that all who come under the first 
and second description, shall be comfortably clothed and fed by 
my heirs while they live ; and that such of the latter descrip- 
tion as have no parents living, or, if living, are unable or un- 
Avilling to provide for them, shall be bound by the court until 
th?y shall arrive at the age of 25 years ; and in cases where no 
record can be produced, whereby their ages can be ascertained, 
fhe jiulgment of the court, upon its own view of the subje£l, 
shiill be adequate and final. The negroes thus bound, are (by 
their masters or mistresses) to be taught to read and write, and 
be brought up to some useful occupation, agreeably to the laws 
of the commonwealth of Virginia providing for the support of 
orphan and other poor children. And I do hereby expressly for- 
bid the sale or transportation out of the said commonwealth, 
of any slave I may die possessed of under any pretence what- 
soever. And I do moreover most pointedly and most solemnly 
enjoin it upon my executors hereafter named, or the survivors 



Appendix. s^ 

of them, to see that this clause respecling slaves, and every 
part thereof, be religiously fulfilled at the epoch at which it is 
diredled to take place, without evasion, negleft or delay, after 
the crops which may then be on the ground are harvested, par- 
ticularly as it respedls the aged and infirm ; seeing that a regu- 
lar and permanent fund be established for their support, as long 
as there are subjedls requiring it, not trusting to the uncertain 
provision made by individuals. — And, to my mulatto man 
William (calling himself William Lee,,) I give immediate free- 
dom, or if lie should prefer it (on account of the accidents 
■which have befallen him, and which have rendered him incapa- 
ble of walking or of any adlive employment) to remain in the 
situation he now is, it shall be optional in him to do so ; in ei- 
ther case, however, I allow him an annuity of 30 dollars dur- 
ing his natural life, which shall be independent of the viifluals 
and clothes he has been accustomed to receive, if he chuses the 
latter alternative ; but in full with his freedom, if he prefers the 
first ; and this J give him as a testimony of my sense of his 
attachment to me, and for his faithful services during the revo- 
lutionary war. 

Item.— -To the trustees(governors,orby whatsoever other name 
they may be designated) of the academy in the town of Alex- 
andria, I give and bequeath, in trust, 4000 dollars, or in other 
words, 20 of the shares which I hold in the bank of Alexan- 
dria, towards the support of a free school, established at, and 
annexed to, the said academ.y, for the purpose of educating or- 
phan children, or the children of such other poor and indigent 
persons, as are unable to accomplish it with their own means, 
and who, in the judgment of the trustees of the said seminary, 
are best entitled to the benefit of this donation. The aforesaid 
20 shares I give and bequeath in perpetuity, the dividends only 
of which are to be drawn for, and applied by the said trus- 
tees, for the time being, for the uses above mentioned ; the 
stock to remain entire and untouched, unless indications of fai- 
lure of the said bank should be so apparent, or a discontinuance 
thereof, should render a removal of this fund necessary. In 
either of these cases, the amount of the stock here devised is 
to be vested in some other bank, or public institutionj whereby 



40 APPENDIX. 

the interest may with regularity and certainty be drawn and ap- 
plied as above. And, to prevent nriisconception, my meaning is, 
and is hereby declared to be, that these 20 shares are in lieu of, 
and not in addition to, the lOOOl. given by a missive letter some 
years ago, in consequence whereof, an annuity of 501. has since 
been paid towards the support of this institution. 

Item. — Whereas by a law of the commonwealth of Virginia, 
enaded in the year 1785, the legislature thereof was pleased 
(as an evidence of its approbation of the services I had rendered 
the public during the revolution, and partly, I believe, in con- 
sideration of my having suggested the vast advantages which 
the community would derive from the extension of its inland 
navigation under legislative patronage) to present me with 100 
shares of 100 dollars each, in the incorporated company esta- 
blished for the purpose of extending the navigation of jfames 
river from the tide-water to the mountains ; and also with 50 
shares of lOOl. sterling each in the corporation of another com- 
pany likewise established for the similar purpose of opening the 
navigation of the river Potoivmac from the tide -water to Fort 
Cumberland ; the acceptance of which, although the offer was 
highly honorable and grateful to my feelings, was refused as in- 
consistent with a principle which I had adopted, and had never 
departed from — namely, not to receive pecuniary compensation 
for any services I could render my country in its arduous strug- 
gle with Great-Britain for its rights, and because I had evaded 
eimilar propositions from other states in the Union : Adding to 
this refusal, however, an intimation, that, if it should be the 
pleasure of the legislature to permit me to appropriate the said 
shares to public uses^ I would receive them on those terms with 
due sensibility ; and this it having consented to, in flattering 
terms, as will appear by a subsequent law and sundry resolu- 
tions, in the most ample and honorable manner — I proceed, af- 
ter this recital, for the more correct understanding of the case, 
to declare. That as it has always been a source of serious re- 
gret with me, to see the youth of these United States sent to 
foreign countries for the purposes of education, often before 
their minds were formed, or they had imbibed any adequate 
ideas of the happiness of their own, contrading, too frequently, 



APPENDIX. 41 

not only habits of dissipation and extravagance, but principles 
unfriendly to republican government^ and to the true and genu- 
ine liberties of mankind^ which, thereafter, are rarely overcome. 
For these reasons, it has been my ardent wish to see a plan de- 
vised, on a liberal scale, which would have a tendency to spread 
systematic ideas through all parts of this rising empire, thereby 
to do away local attachments and state prejudices, as far as the 
nature of things would, or indeed ought to admit from our na- 
tional councils. Looking anxiously forward to the accomplish- 
ment of so desirable an objedt as this is (in my estimation) my 
mind has not been able to contemplate any plan more likely to 
efFe<St the measure, than the establishment of a university in a 
central part of the United States, to which the youths of for- 
tune and talents from all parts thereof might be sent for the 
completion of their education in all the branches of polite lite- 
rature in the arts and sciences, in acquiring knowledge in the 
principles of politics and good government ; and, as a matter 
of infinite importance in my judgment, by associating with each 
other, and forming friendships In juvenile years, be enabled to 
free themselves, in a proper degree, from those local prejudices 
and habitual jealousies which have just been mentioned, and 
which, when carried to excess, are never-failing sources of dis- 
quietude to the public mind, and pregnant of mischievous con- 
sequences to this country. — Under these impressions, so fully di- 
lated, 

Item, — I give and bequeath, in perpetuity, the 50 shares 
which I hold in the Potowmac company (under the afcresald ad>.9 
of the legislature of Virgini'd) towards the endowment of a 
university, to be established within the limiis of the dlstrift of 
Columbia, under the auspices of the general governn:ent, if that 
government should incline to extend a fostering hand towards 
it ; and until such seminary is established, and the funds arising 
on these shares shall be required for Its support, my furtht^r will 
and desire is, that the profit accruing therefrom, shall, whene- 
ver the dividends are made, be laid out in purchasing stock in 
the bank of Columbia, or some other bank, at the discretion of 
my executors, or by the treasurer of the United States for the 
ti;ne being, under the diredtion of congress, provided that ho- 



42 APPENDIX. 

novable body should patronize the measure ; and the dividends 
proceeding from the purchase of such stock are to be vested in 
more stock, and so on, until a sum adequate to the accomplish- 
ment of the objeft is obtained, of which I have not the smallest 
doubt before many years pass away, even if no aid or encou- 
ragement is given by legislative authority, or from any other 
source. 

Item. — The hundred shares -which I hold in the James river 
company, I have given, and now confirm, in perpetuity, to and 
for the use and benefit of Liberty Hall Academy, in the county 
of Rockbridge, in the commonwealth of Virginia. 

Item.'—l release, exonerate, and discharge, the estate of my 
deceased brother, Samuel Washington^ from the payment of the 
money which is due to me for the land I sold to Philip Peu" 
dieton (lying in the county of Berkeley,) who assigned the 
same to him, the said Samuel, who, by agreement, was to pay 
nie therefor: And whereas by some contract (the purport of 
which was never communicated to me) between the said Samuel 
and his son Thornton Washington^ the latter became possessed 
of the aforesaid land, without any conveyance having passed 
from me, either to the said Pendleton, the said Samuel, or the 
said Thornton, and without any consideration having been made, 
by which negle£t, neither the legal nor equitable title has been 
alienated, it rests thcicfore with me, to declare my intentions 
concerning the premises ; and these are, to give and bequeath 
the said land to whomsoever the said Thornton Washington (who 
is also dead) devised the same, or to his heirs for ever, if he 
died intestate, exonerating the estate of the said Thornton^ 
equally with that of the said Samuel, from payment of the pur- 
chase money, which, with interest, agreeably to the original 
contrail- with the said Pendleton, would amount to more than 
lOOOl. And whereas two other sons of my said deceased bro- 
ther, Samuel, namely, George Steptoe Washington and Latvrence 
Augustine Washington, were, by the decease of those to whose 
care they were committed, brought under my prote£lion, and, 
in consequence, have occasioned advances on my part for their 
education at college and other schools, and for their board. 



APPENDIX. 43 

clothing and other Incidental expences, to the amount of near 
5000 dollars, over and above the sums furnished by their estate ; 
■which sum it may be inconvenient for them or their father's 
estate to refund — I do, for these reasons, acquit them and the 
said estate from the payment thereof, my intention being, that 
all accounts between them and me, and their father's estate and 
me, shall stand balanced. 

Item, — The balance due to me from the estate of Bartbolo' 
fjiew Dandridge, deceased (my wife's brother) and which amount- 
ed, on the first day of 0£lober 1795, to 4251. (as will appear 
by an account rendered by his deceased son, JohTi Dandridge^ 
■who was the afting executor of his father's will) I release and 
acquit from the payment thereof. And the negroes (then 33 in 
number) formerly belonging to the said estate, who were taken in 

execution, sold, and purchased in on my account, in the year , 

and ever since have remained in the possession and to the use of 
Mary^ widow of the said Earth, Dandridge^ with their increase, 
it is my will and desire, shall continue and be in her possession, 
without paying hire, or making compensation for the same, for 
the time past or to come, during her natural life ; at the expi- 
ration of which, I direct, that all of them who are 40 years old 
and upwards, shall receive their freedom ; all under that age 
and above 16, shall serve seven years, and no longer ; and all 
under 16 years shall serve until they are 25 years of age, and 
then be free. And to avoid disputes respefting the ages of any of 
these negroes, they are to be taken into the court of the county 
in which they reside, and the judgment thereof, in this rela- 
tion, shall be final, and record thereof made, which may be ad- 
duced as evidence at any time thereafter, if disputes should 
arise concerning the same. And I further direft, that the heirs 
of the said Barth. Dcindridge. shall, equally, share the benefits 
arising from the services of the said negroes, according to the 
tenor of this devise, upon the decease of their mother, 

Item.'—li Charles Carter., who intermarried with my niece 
Betty Lewis, is not sufficiently secured in the title to the lots 
he had of me in the towa of Fredericksburg, it is my will and 



44 APPENDIX. 

desire, tlia my executors shall make such conveyances of them 
as the law requires to render it perfe(5t. 

Item. — To my nephew, William Augustine Washington^ and 
his heirs (if he should conceive them to be objefts worth pro- 
secuting) a lot in the town of Manchester (opposite to Rich- 
mond) No. 265, drawn on my sole account, and also the tenth 
of 1 or 200 acre lots, and two or three haif-acre lots, in the city 
and vicinity of Richmond, drawn in partnership with nine others, 
all in the lottery of the deceased William Bird, are given ; as 
is also a Ipt which I purchased of John Hood, conveyed by 
William Willie and Sam. Gordon, trustees of the said John 
Hood, numbered 139, in the town of Edinburgh, in the county 
of Prince George, state of Virginia. 

Item. — To my nephew Biisbrod Washington^ I give and be- 
queath all the papers in my possession which relate to my civil 
and military administration of the aiFairs of this country ; I 
leave to him also such of my private papers as are worth pre- 
serving ; and, at the decease of my wife, and before, if she is 
not inclined to retain them, I give and bequeath my library of 
books and pamphlets of every kind. 

Item. — Having sold lands which I possessed in the state of 
Pennsylvania, and part of a tradl held in equal right with George 
Clinton, late governor of New-York ; my share of land and in- 
terest in the Great Dismal Swamp, and a trad of land which I 
owned in the county of Gloucester — withholding the legal titles 
thereto, until the consideration money should be paid— and 
having moreover leased, and conditionally sold (as will appear 
by the tenor of the said leases) all my lands upon the Great 
Kenhawa, and a traft upon Difficult Run in the county of Lou- 
don, it is my will and dire£lion, that whensoever the contrails 
are fully and respectively complied with, accoi ding to the spirit, 
true intent and meaning thereof, on the part of the purchasers, 
their heirs or assigns, that then, and in that case, conveyances 
are to be made, agreeable to the terms of the said contrads, 
and the money arising therefrom, when paid, to be vested in 
bank stock ; the dividends whereof, as of that also which is 



APPENDIX. 4S 

already vested therein, is to inure to my said wife during her 
life, but the stock itself is to remain and be subjed to the ge- 
neral distribution hereafter direded. 

Item. — To the earl of Bucban I re-commit " the box made 
of the oak that sheltered the brave Sir William Wallace after 
the battle of Falkirk," presented to me by his lordship in terms 
too flattering for me to repeat, with a request " to pass it, on 
the event of my decease, to the man in my country who should 
appear to merit it best, upon the same conditions that have in- 
duced him to send it to me." — Whether easy or not, to select 
THE MAN who might comport with his lordship's opinion in this 
respedt, is not for me to say ; but conceiving that no disposi- 
tion of this valuable curiosity can be more eligible than the re- 
commitment of it to his own cabinet, agreeably to the original 
design of the Goldsmith's company of Edinburg, who presented 
it to him, and, at his request, consented that it should be trans- 
ferred to me — I do give and bequeath the same to his lordship ; 
and, in case of his decease, to his heir, with my grateful thanks 
for the distinguished honor of presenting it to me, and more 
especially for the favorable sentiments with which he accompa- 
nied it. 

Item. — To my brother Charles TVasbington, I give and be- 
queath the gold-headed cane left me by Dr. Franklin, in his 
will. I add nothing to it, because of the ample provision I 
have made for his issue. To the acquaintances and friends of 
my juvenile years, Laivrence Washington and Robert Washing- 
ton, of Ghotan£t, I give my other tv/o gold-headed canes, having 
my arms engraved on them ; and to each (as they will be useful 
where they live) I leave one of the spy glasses, which consti- 
tuted part 'of my equipage during the late war. To my com-, 
patriot in arms and old and intimate friend. Dr. Craik, I give 
my bureau, or, as the cabinet-makers call it, tambour secretary, 
and the ciixular chair, an appendage of my study. To Dr, 
David Steivart, I give my large shaving and dressing table, and 
my telescope. To the reverend, now Bryan Lord Fairfax, I 
give a Bible in three large folio volumes, with notes, presented 
to me by the Rt. Rev. Thomas Wilson, bishop of Sodor and 



46 APPENDIX. 

Man. To general De la Fayette, I give a pair of finely ■wrought 
steel pistols, taken from the enemy in the revolutionury war. 
To my sisters-in-law, Hannah Washington and Mildred Wash- 
ington — to my friends Eleanor Stuart, Hannah Washington, of 
Fairfield, and Elizabeth Washington, of Hayfield, I give, each, 
a mourning ring of the value of 100 dollars. These bequests 
are not made for the intrinsic value of them, but as mementoes 
of my esteem and regard. To Tobias Lear, I give the use of 
the farm which he now holds, in virtue of a lease from me to 
liim and his deceased wife (for and during their natural lives) 
free from rent during his life ; at the expiration of which, it is 
to be disposed of as is hereinafter diredted. To Sally B, Hay- 
mie (a distant relation of mine) I give and bequeath 300 dol- 
lars. To Sarah Green, daughter of the deceased Thomas Bi- 
shop, and to Ann Walker, daughter of yohn Alton, also de- 
ceased, I give each 100 dollars, in consideration of the attach- 
ment of their fathers to me, each of whom having lived nearly 
40 years in my family. To each of my nephews, William Au- 
gustine Washington, George Lewis, George Steptoe Washington^ 
Busbrod Washington, and Samuel Washington, I give one of the 
swords, or cutteaux, of which I may die possessed ; and they 
are to chuse in the order they are named. These swords are 
accompanied with an injunftion, not to unsheath them for the 
purpose of shedding blood, except it be for self-defence, or in 
defence of their country and its rights ; and, in the latter case, 
to keep them unsheathed, and prefer falling with them in their 
hands to the relinquishment thereof. - 

And now, having gone through thcsa specific devises, with 
explanations for the more correft understanding of the mean- 
ing and design of them, I proceed to the distribution of the 
more important parts of my estate, in manner following — 

First. — To my nephew, Bushrod Washington, and his heirs, 
(partly in consideration of an intimation to his deceased father, 
vhile we were bachelors, and he had kindly undertaken to su- 
perintend my estate during my military services in the former 
war between Great Britain and France, that if I should fall 
therein, Mount Vernon, then less extensive in domain than at 



APPENDIX, 47 

present, should become his property) I give and bequeath all 
that part thereof which is comprehended within the following 
limits, viz. Beginning at the ford of Dogue Run near my mill, 
and extending along the road, and bounded thereby, as it now 
goes and ever has gone since my recolledion of it, to the ford 
of Little Hunting creek, at the Gum spring, until it comes to 
a knowl opposite to an old road which formerly passed through 
the lowerfield of Muddy-hole farm, at which, on the north side 
of the said road, are three red or Spanish oaks marked as a 
corner, and a stone placed — thence by a line of trees to be 
marked reftangular, to the back line or outer boundary of the 
traft between Thomas Mason and myself — thence with that line 
easterly (now double ditching, with a post and rail fence thereon) 
to the run of Little iluning creek — thence with that run, which 
is the boundary between the lands of the late H. Peake and 
me, to the tide-water of the said creek — thence by that water 
to Potowmac river — thence with the river to the mouth of 
Dogue creek — and thence with the said Dcgue creek to the 
place of beginning at the aforesaid ford : containing upwards 
of 4000 acres, be the same more or less, together -with the 
mansion house and all other building and improvements thereon. 

Second, — In consideration of the consanguinity between them 
and my wife, being as nearly related to her as to myself, as on 
account of the afFeftion I had for, and the obligation I Avas un- 
der to, their father, when living, who, from his youth, had at- 
tached himself to my person, and followed my fortunes through 
the vicissitudes of the late revolution, afterwards devoting hie 
time to the superintendance of my private concerns for many- 
years, whilst my public employments rendered it impradticable 
for me to do it myself, thereby aiFording mc essential services, 
and always performing them in a manner the most filial and re- 
speclful — For these reasons, I say, I give and bequeath to 
George Fayette Washington and Lawrence Augustine Washing- 
ton, and their heirs, my estate east of Little Hunting creek, 
lying on the river Potowmac, including the farm of 360 acres, 
leased to Tobias Lear, as noticed before, and containing in the 
whole, by deed, two thousand and twenty-seven acres, be it 
more or less ; which said estate, it is my will and desire, should 



48 APPENDIX. 

be equitably and advantageously divided between tbem, accord- 
ing to quantity, quality and other circumstances, -when the 
youngest shall have arrived at the age of 21 years, by three ju- 
dicious and disinterested men ; one to be chosen by each of the 
brothers, and the third by these two. In the mean time, if the 
termination of my wife's interest therein should have ceased^ 
the profits arising therefrom are to be applied for their joint 
uses and benefit. 

Third, — And whereas it has always been my intention, since 
my expeftation of having issue has ceased, to consider the grand- 
children of my wife, in the spme light as I do my own relations, 
and to act a friendly part by them, more especially by the two 
■whom we have raised from their earliest infancy — namely, £/e- 
anor Park Ciistis, and George Washington Park Custis, And 
whereas the former of these hath lately intermarried with Law- 
rence Le-ivisy a son of my deceased sister, Hettj Lewis, by 
which union the inducement to provide for them both has been 
increased ; wherefore I give and bequeath to the said Lawrence 
Lewis and Eleanor Park Lewis, his wife, and their heirs, the 
residue of my Mount Vernon estate, not already devised to my 
nephew, Busbrod Washington, comprehended within the follow- 
ing description, viz. All the land north of the road leading from 
the ford of Dogue run to the Gum spring, as described in the 
devise of the other part of the tra£t to Bushrod Washington, un- 
til it comes to the stone and three red or Spanish oaks on the 
knowl ; thence with the reftangular line to the back line (be- 
tween Mr. Mason and me) thence with that line westerly along 
the new double ditch to Dogue run by the tumbling dam of my 
mill ; thence with the said run to the ford afore-mentioned ; to 
which I add all the land I possess west of the said Dogue run 
and Dogue creek, bounded easterly and southerly thereby ; to- 
gether with the mill, distillery and all other houses and improve- 
ments on the premises j making together about 2000 acres, be 
it more or less. 

Fourth. — Actuated by the principle already mentioned, I give 
and bequeath to George Washington Park Custis, the grandson 
of my wife, and my ward, and to his heirs, the Itzci I hold on 



APPENDIX. 49 

Four Mile Run, in the vicinity of Alexandria, containing 1,200 
acres, more or less, and my entire square. No. 21, in the city 
of Washington. 

Fifth, — All the rest and residue of my estate, real and per- 
sonal, not disposed of in manner aforesaid, in whatsoever con- 
sisting, wheresoever lying, and wheresoever found, (a sche- 
dule of which, as far as is recollected, with a reasonable esti- 
mate of its value, is hereunto annexed) I desire may be sold 
by my executors, at such times, in such manner, and on such 
credits (if an equal, valid and satisfaftory distribution of the 
specific property cannot be made without) as in their judgment 
shall be most conducive to the interest of the parties concerned, 
and the monies arising therefrom to be divided into 23 equal 
parts, and applied as follows, viz. To William Augustine Wasb- 
ingtotty Elizabeth Spotsivood^ Jane Thornton, and the heirs of 
Ann Ashton, son and daughters of my deceased brother Augus- 
tine Washington, I give and bequeath four parts, that is, one 
part to each of them : To Fielding Lewis, George Leivis, Ro- 
bert Lewis, Hoivell Lewis, and Betty Carter, sons and daugh- 
ter of my deceased sister Bettj Leivis, I give and bequeath five 
other parts, one to each of them : To George Steptoe Washing- 
ton, Lawrence A* Washington, Harriot Parks, and the heirs of 
Thornton Washington, sons and daughter of my deceased bro- 
ther Samuel Washington, I give and bequeath the other four 
parts, one part to each of them : To Corbin Washington, and 
the heirs of Jane Washington, son and daughter of my deceased 
brother John A. Washington, I give and bequeath two parts, 
one part to each of them : To Samuel Washington, Frances Bally 
and Mildred Hammond, son and daughters of my brother Cba, 
Washington, 1 give and bequeath three parts, one part to each 
of them ; and to Geo. F. Washington, Cha. Aug, V/ashington, 
and Maria Washington, sons and daughter of my deceased ne- 
phew, Geo, A, Washington, I give one other part, that is, to 
each a third of that part : To Eliz. Park Law, Martha Park 
Peter, and Eleanor Park Lewis, I give and bequeath three other 
parts, that is, a part to each of them : And, to my nephews, 
Bushrod Washington and Law Lewis, and to my ward, the grand- 
son of my wife, I give and bequeath one other part, that is, a 

G 



50 APPENDIX. 

tl ial thereof to each cf them. And if it should so happen, that 
a;;y of the persoi/s whose nan:es are here enuinerated (unknown 
to me) should row be dead, or should die before me, that in 
either of these cases, the heirs of such deceased persons shall, 
liotwithstandiiig, derive all the benefits of the bequest, in the 
same manner as if he or she was aftually living at the time. 
And, by way of advice, I recommend to m.y executors not to 
be pitcipitate in disposing of the landed property (therein di» 
redied to be sold) if from temporary causes the sale thereof 
should be dull ; experience having fully evinced, that the price 
of land, especially above the falls of the rivers and on the west- 
ern waters, has been progressively rising and cannot be long 
checked in its increasing value. And 1 particularly recommend 
it to such cf the legatees (under this clause of my will) as can 
liiake it convenient, to take each a share of my stock in the Po- 
towmac company, in preference to the amount of what it might 
sell for — being thoroughly convinced myself, that no uses to 
which the money can be applied, will be so produdive as the 
tolls arising from this navigation when in full operation (and 
this from the nature of things it must be ere long) and more 
especially if that of the Shenandoah is added thereto. 

The fam'ly vault at Mount Vernon, requiring repairs, and 
being improperly situated besides, I desire that a new one of 
brick, and upon a larger scale, may be built at the foot of what 
is commonly called the Vineyard inclosure, on the ground which 
is maiked out — in which my remains, with those of my deceased 
relations (new in the old vault) and such ethers of my family 
Ks may chuse "o bt entombed there, may be deposited. Audit 
is my exj.ress dtslre, that my corps may be interred in a private 
jnynner, withoue parade or funeral oration. 

Lastly. — I constitute and appoint my dearly beloved wife 
3jartha Viasbington^ny nephews William Augustine Washington^ 
Biisbrod Washington, George Steptoe Washington, Samuel Wash- 
ington, and Lawrence Lewis, and my ward George Washington 
park Custis (when he shall have arrived at the age of 20 years) 
executrix and executors of this my will and testament— 
in tlie construi^ion of which, it wiU readily be perceived; that 



APPENDIX. SI 

no professional charaftcr has been consulted, or has had any 
agency in the draught ; and, that although it has occupied 
many of my leisure hours to digest, and to throw it into its 
present form, it may, notwithstanding, appear crude and incor- 
reft — but having endeavored to be plain and explicit in all the 
devises, even at the expence of prolixity, jerhaps of tautology, 
I hope and trust, that no disputes will arise concerning them ; 
but if, contrary to expeftation, the case should be otherwise 
from the want of legal expression, or the usual technical terms, 
or because too much or too little has been said on any of the 
devises to be consoiiant with law, my will and direftion ex- 
pressly is, that all disputes (if unhappily any should arise) shall 
be decided by three impartial and intelligent men, known for 
their probity and good understanding — two to be chosen by the 
disputants, each havijig the choice of one, and the third by 
those two— which three men thus chosen shall, unfettered by 
law or legal construftions, declare the sense of the testator's 
intentions ; and such decision is, to all intents and purposes, 
to be as binding on the parties as if it had been given in tiie 
supreme court of the United States. 

In fVifNESS of all and each of the things lerein contained^ I' 
have set my band and secl^ this ninth day of Juh, in the 
year one thousand seven hundred and ninety *, and of toe 
■independence of the United States the tiventy-fourth. 

GE RGE WASHING TO N, 

* It appears the testator omitted the word ninf. 



53 



APPENDIX. 



SCHEDULE 

Of property comprehended in the foregoing will, directed to 
be sold, and some of it conditionally is sold—^ivith descriptive 
and explanatory notes thereto. 

IN VIRGINIA. 





Acres, Price, 


Dollars, 


Loudon CO. Difficult Run, 


300 


6,666a 


Loudon and Faquier, 






Ashby's Bent, 


2,481 lOd. 24,810> ^ 
885 8 7,080 3 


Chattins Run, 


Berkley, S. fork of Bouliskin, 


1,600 




Head of Evan's m. 


453 




In Wormley's line, 


183 






2,236 20 


44,720c 


Frederick, bo't from Mercer, 


571 20 


11,420c? 


Hampshire, on Potowmac river, 






above B. 


240 15 


3,600e 


Gloucester, on North river, 


400 about 


3,600/ 


Nansemond, near Suffolk, one-third 


of 




1,1 19 acres, 


573 8 


2,984^ 


Great Dismal Swamp, my dividend 






thereof, 


about 


20,0003 


Ohio river, Round Bottom, 


587 




Little Kenhawa, 


2,314 




Sixteen miles lower down, 


2,448 




Opposite Big Bent, 


4.395 

. Dollars. 






9,744 10 


97,440; 


GREAT KENHAWA. 




Near the north-west, 


10,180 




East side above. 


■ 7,276 




Mouth of Cole river. 


2000 




Opposite thereto^ 2,950 } 
Burning Spring, 125 5 


3,075 





2O0,000A 



APPENDIX. 

Acres, Price, 

MARYLAND. 

Charles county, 600 &d, 

Montgomery ditto, 519 12 

PENNSYLVANIA. 
Great Meadows, 234 6 



Mohawk river, 



NEW-YORK. 

about 1000 6 



NORTH-WEST TERRITORY. 



On Little Mian 
Ditto, 


ni, S39 
977 


Ditto, 


1,235 




3,251 S 




KENTUCKY. 


Rough Creek, 


3000 


Ditto adjoining 


* 2000 


• 


5000 2 




LOTS, «/z. 




CITY OF WASHINGTON. 



Two near the capitol, square 634, cost 963 dollars, 
and with buildings, 
Nos, 5, 12, 13, and 14, the three last water lots on 
the Eastern Branch, in square 667, containing to- 
gether 34,438 square feet, at 12 cents, 

ALEXANDRIA. 

Corner of Fitt and Prince streets, half an acre laid 
out into buildings, three or four of which are let 
on ground rent at three dollars per foot, 



53 
Dollars, 

S,600f 
6,22Sni 

1,404n 

60000 



16,251ji 



10,000^ 



15,000r 



4,132^ 



4000f 



5'1 



APPENDIX. 



WINCHESTER. 

A lot in the town of half an acre, and another in the 
commons of about six acres, supposed 

BATH OR WARM SPRINGS. 
Two well situated, and had buildings to the amount 
of 1501. 

STOCK. 

UNITED STATES. 

3,746 

500 



Dollars, 



400ti 



800^ 



Six per cent. 

Ditto deferred, 1,873 
Three per cent 



1,873> 
. 2,946 3 



POTOWMAC COMPANY. 

Twenty-four shares cost each lOOl. sterling, 

JAMES RIVER COMPANY, 
Tivc shares each cost 100 dollars. 



6,246w 
10,666m 

eooj 



BANK OF COLUMBIA. 

One hundred and seventy shares, cost 40 dollars each, 6,800s 

BANK OF ALEXANDRIA. lOQO 

Besides tv.-enty shares to the free school — 5 

STOCK LIVING, VtZ. 

One covering horse, five carriage horses, four riding 
ditto, six brood mares, 20 working horses and 
mares, 2 covering jacks, and 3 young ones ; 10 
she asses, 42 working mules, 15 younger ones, 329 

head of horned cattle, 640 head of sheep, and a 
large stock of hogs, the precise number un- 
known. |Q" My manager has estimated this live 
stock at 7,0001. but I shall set it down in order 
to make a round sura, at 15,S5S 



Aggregate amount, 530,000 



APPENDIX. 55 



NOTES, 



a. This tra£l, for the size of it, is valuable, more for its 
situation than the quality of its soil, though that is good for 
farming ; with a considerable proportion of ground, that might 
very easily be improved into meadow. It lies on the great 
road from the city of Washington, Alexandria and George- 
Town, to Leesburgh and Winchester, at Difficult Bridge, nine- 
teen miles from Alexandria, less from the city and George- 
Town, and not more than three from Matildaville, at the great 
falls of Potowmac. There is a valuable seat on the premises, 
and the whole is conditionally sold for the sum annexed in the 
schedule. 

b. What the selling prices of lands in the vicinity ot these 
two trails are, J know not ; but compared with those above 
the ridge, and others below it, the value annexed will appear 
moderate ; a less one would not obtain them from me. 

c. The surrounding land not superior in soil, situation or 
properties of any sort, sells currently at from twenty to thirty 
dollars an acre. The lowest price is affixed to these. 

d. The observations made in the last note, apply equally to 
this tra£l, being in the vicinity of them, and of similar pua* 
lity, although it lies in another county. 

e. This trad, though small, is extremely valuable. It lies 
on Potowmac river, about twelve miles above the town of Bath 
(or Warm Springs) and is in the shape of a horse-shoe, the 
river running almost around it. Two hundred acres of it are 
rich low grounds, with .a great abundance of the largest and 
finest walnut trees, which, with the produce of the soil, might 
(by means of the improved navigation of the Potowmac) be 
brought to a shipping port with more ease, and at a smaller ex- 
pence, than that which is transported thirty miles only by land, 

/. This traft is of second rate Gloucester low grounds. It 
Las no improvements thereon, but lies on navigable water, 



56 APPENDIX. 

abounding in fish ?.nd oysters. It was received in payment of 
a debt (carrying interest) and valued in the year 1789 by an 
impartial gentleman, at 8001. 

N. B. It has lately been sold, and there is due thereon a 
balance equal to what is annexed in the schedule. 

g. These 373 acres are the third part of undivided pur- 
chases made by the deceased Fielding Lewis, Thos. Walker and 
myself, on full conviction that they would become valuable. — 
The land lies on the road from Suffolk to Norfolk, touches (if 
I am not mistaken) some part of the navigable water of Nanse- 
mond river. The rich Dismal Swamp is capable of great im- 
provement ; and, from its situation, must become extremely 
valuable. 

h. This is an undivided interest which I held in the great 
Dismal Swamp Company, containing about 4000 acres, with 
my part of the plantation and stock thereon, belonging to the 
company in the said swamp. 

/. These several tra£ls of land are of the first quality on 
the Ohio river, in the parts where they are situated, being al- 
most, if not altogether, river bottoms. The smallest of these 
trads is actually sold at ten dollars an acre, but the considera- 
tion therefor not received. The rest are equally valuable, and 
will sell as high, especially that which lies just below the Lit- 
tle Kenhawa ; and is opposite to a thick settlement on the west 
side of the river. The four trafts have an aggregate breadth 
•upon the river of sixteen miles, and are bounded there by that 
distance. 

k. These trads are situated upon the Great Kenhawa river, 
and the first four are bounded thereby for more than 40 miles. 
It is acknowledged by all who have seen them (and of the tra£t 
containing 10,990 acres, which I have been on myself, I can 
assert) that there is no richer or more valuable land in all that 
region. They are conditionally sold for the sum mentioned in 
the schedule, that is, 200,000 dollars, and if the terms of that 



APPENDIX. 57 

sale arc not complied with, they will command considerable 
more. The tra<Stj of which the 125 acres is a moiety, was taken 
up by general Andrew Lewis and myself, for, and on account 
of a bitumenous spring which it contains, of so inflammable a 
nature, as to burn as freely as spirits, and is nearly as difficult 
to extinguish. 

/. I AM but little acquainted with this land, although I have 
once been on it. It was received (many years since) in discharge 
of a debt due to me from Daniel Jenifer Adams, at the value 
annexed thereto, and must be worth more. It is very level — 
lies near the river Potowmac. 

m. This traft lies about 30 miles above the city of Wash- 
ington, not far from Kittodan. It is good farming land, and 
by those who are well acquainted with it, I am informed that 
it would sell at twelve or fifteen dollars per acre. 

71. This land is valuable on account of its local situation and 
other properties. It affords an exceeding good stand on Brad- 
dock's road from Fort Cumberland to Pittsburgh ; and, besides a 
fertile soil, possesses a large quantity of natural meadow, fit 
for the scythe. It is distinguished by the appellation of the 
Great Meadows, where the first adlion with the French, in the 
year 1754, was fought. 

0. This is the moiety of about 2000 acres which remains un- 
sold, of 6,07 1 acres on the Mohawk river (Montgomery county) 
in a patent granted to Daniel Coxe, in the township of Coxbc- 
rough and Carolina, as will appear by deed, from Marinus Wil- 
let and wife, to George Clinton (late governor of New-York) 
and myself. The latter sales have been at six dollars an acre, 
and what remains unsold will fetch that or more. 

j&. The quality of these lands and their situation, may be 
known by the surveyor's certificates, which are filed along with 
the patents. They lie in the vicinity of Cincinnati ; one tra<51: 
near the mouth of the Little Miami ; another seven, and the 

H 



§8 APPENDIX. 

third ten miles up the same. I have been informed that they 
•will readily command more than they are estimated at. 

q. For the description of those traifls in detail, see general 
Spotswood's letters filed with the other papers relating to them. 
Besides the general good quality of the land, there is a valua- 
ble bank of iron ore thereon, which, when the settlement be- 
comes more populous (and settlers are moving that way very fast) 
Avlll be found very valuable, as the Rough creek, a branch of 
Green river, affords ample water for furnaces and forges. 

LOTS, viz. 
CITY OF WASHINGTON. 

r. The two lots near the capitol, in square 634, cost mc 963 
dollars only ; but in this price I was favored, on condition that 
I should build two brick houses three stories high each : with- 
out this reduftion the selling prices of these lots would have 
cost me about 1,350 dollars. These lots, with the buildings on 
them when completed, will stand me in 15,000 dollars at least. 

5. Lots Nos. 5, 12, 13 and 14, on the eastern branch, are ad- 
vantageously situated on the water ; and although many lots 
much less convenient have sold a great deal higher, I will rate 
these at 12 cents the square foot only. 

ALEXANDRIA. 

*. For this lot, though unimproved, I have refused 3,500 
dollars. It has since been laid off into proper sized lots for 
building on, three or four of which are let on ground-rent for 
ever, at three dollars a foot on the street ; and this price is 
asked for both fronts on Pitt and Prince-street. 

WINCHESTER. 

tt. As neither the lot in the town or common have any im- 
provements on them, it is not easy to fix a price ; but as both 
are well situated, it is presumed the price annexed to them ia 
the schedule is a reasonable valuation. 



APPENDIX. 59 

BATH. 

9, The lots In Bath (two adjoining) cost mc to the best of 
my recolleiSlion between 50 and 60 pounds, 20 years ago ; and 
the buildings thereon 1 501. more. Whether property there has 
increased or decreased in its value, and in what condition the 
houses are, I am ignorant — but suppose they are not valued too 
^igh. 

STOCK. 

w. These are the sums which are aftually funded, and 
though no more in the aggregate than 7,566 dollars, stand mc 
in at least ten thousand pounds, Virginia money ; being the 
amount of bonded and other debts due to me, and discharged 
during the war, when money had depreciated in that rate — 
^CT' ^^^ was so settled by public authority. 

X. The value annexed to these shares is what they adually 
cost me, and is the price affixed by law ; and although the pre- 
sent selling price is under paK my advice to the legatees (for 
Avhose benefit they are intended, especially those who can af- 
ford to lie out of the money) is, that each should take and hold 
one— there being a moral certainty of a great and increasing 
profit arising from them in the course of a few years. 

J. It is supposed that the shares in the James river company 
must also be productive : but of this I can give no decided opi. 
nion, for want of more accurate information. 

z. These are the nominal prices of the shares in the banks of 
Alexandria and Columbia ; the selling prices vary according to 
circumstances ; but as the stock usually divides from eight to 
ten per cent, per annum, they must be worth the former, at 
least, so long as the banks are conceived to be secure, although 
circumstances may sometimes make them below it. 

The value of the live stock depends more upon the quality 
than quantity of the different species of it ; and this again upon 
the demand and judgment, or fancy of purchasers. 

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

Mount Vernon, yulj S, 1799. 



60 APPENDIX. 

(No. VI.) 

ANONYMOUS LETTERS, &c. 

[Jn order to sheiv the situation of the army at the time the cele- 
brated anonymous letters nvere promulgated, nve think it ex- 
pedient to precede them with the following interesting address.'\ 

TO THE UNITED STATES IN CONGRESS AS- 
SEMBLED. 

fHE ADD-RESS AKD PEflflOS OF T'HE OFFICERS OF THE ARMY 
OF THE UNITED STATES, 

Humbly shenveth— 

THAT we, the oSlcers of the army of the United States, 
in behalf of ourselves and our brethren the soldiers, beg 
leave, -with all proper deference and rcspeft, freely to state to 
congress, the supreme power of the United States, the great 
distress under which we labor. 

At this period of the wra- it is with peculiar pain we find 
ourselves constrained to address your august body, on matters 
of a pecuniary nature. We have struggled with our difficul- 
ties year after year, under the hopes that each would be the 
last ; but we have been disappointed. We find our embarrass- 
ments thicken so fast, and have become so complex, that many 
of us are unable to go further. In this exigence we apply to 
congress for relief, as our head and sovereign. 

To prove that our hardships are exceedingly disproportionate 
to those of any other citizens of America, let a recurrence be 
be had to the paymaster's accounts, for four years past. If to 
this it should be objedled, that the respedllve states have made 
settlements and given securities for the pay due, for part of that 
time, let the present value of those nominal obligations be as- 
certained by the monied men, and they will be found to be 
worth little indeed ; and yet, trifling as they are, many have 
been under the sad necessity of parting with them, to prevent 
their families from a<^ually starving. 



APPENDIX. 61 

We complain that shadows have been offered tons, while the 
substance has been gleaned by others. Our situation com- 
pels us to search for the cause of our extreme poverty. The 
citizens murmur at the greatness of their taxes, and are asto- 
nished that no part reaches the army. The numerous demands, 
which are between the first coIIe£iors and the soldiers, swallow 
up the whole. Our distresses are now brought to a point. We 
have borne all that men can bear — our property is expended — 
our private resources are at an end — and our friends are wea- 
ried cut and disgusted with our incessant applications. We 
therefore most seriously and earnestly beg, that a supply of 
money may be forwarded to the army, as soon as possible. The 
uneasiness of the soldiers, for vrant of pay, is great and dan- 
gerous ; any further experiment on their patience, may have fa- 
tai effedls. The promised subsistence or ration of provisions, 
consisted of certain articles specified in kind and quality. This 
ration, without regard, that we can conceive, to the health of 
the troops, has been frequently altered, as necessity or conve- 
niency suggested, — generally losing by the change some part of 
its substance. On an average, not more than seven or eight- 
tenths have been issued j the retained parts were, for a short 
time, paid for ; but the business became troublesome to those 
who were to execute it. For this, or some other reasons, all 
regard to the dues, as they respefted the soldiers, has been dis- 
continued (nov,- and then a trifling gratuity excepted.) As 
these dues respecled the officers, they were compensated during 
one year and part of another, by an extra ration ; as to the re- 
tained rations, the account for several years remains unsettled ; 
there is a large balance due upon it, and a considerable sum for 
that of forage. 

The clothing was another part of the soldier's hire. The ar- 
rearages on that score, for the year 1777, were paid off in con- 
tinental money, when the dollar was worth about four pence ; 
the arrearages for the following years, are unliquidated, and we 
apprehend scarcely thought of, but by the army. Whenever 
there has been a real want of means, and defecl in system, or 
neglecl in execution, in the departments of the army, we have 
invariably been the sufferers, by hunger and nakedness, and by 



a.3 APPENDIX. 

-languishing in an hospital. We beg leave to urge an inimecli- 
y.te adjustment of all dues ; that, as great a part as possible, 
be paid, and the remainder put on such a footing as will restore 
cheerfulness to the army, receive confidence in the justice and 
generosity of its constituents, and contribute to the very desira- 
ble effeft of re-establishing public credit. We are grieved to 
find, that our brethren, who retired from service on half pay, 
tinder the resolution of congress in 1780, are not only destitute 
of any effeftual provision, but are become the objects of oblo- 
quy. Their condition has a very discouraging aspeft on us, 
•who must sooner or later retire, and from every consideration 
of justice, gratitude and policy, demands attention and redress. 
We regard the acl of congress respefting half pay, as an ho- 
norable and just recompence for several years hard service, in 
which the health and fortunes of the officers have been wofn 
down and exhausted. We see with chagrin the odious point 
of view, in which the citizens of too many of the states endea- 
vor to place the men entitled to it. We hope, for the honor 
of human nature, that there are none so hardened in the sin of 
ingratitude, as to deny the justice of the reward. We have 
reason to believe, that the objeftion generally is against the 
mode only. To prevent therefore any altercations and distinc- 
tions, which may tend to injtJre that harmony which we ar- 
dently desire may reign throughout the community, we are wil- 
ling to commute the half pay pledged, for full pay, for a cer- 
tain number of years, or for a sum in gross, as shall be agreed 
to by the committee sent with this address. And in this we 
pniy, that the disabled officers and soldiers, with the widows 
and orphans of those, who have expended, or may expend, their 
lives in the service of their country, may be fully compre- 
hended. We also beg, that some mode may be pointed out for 
the eventual payment of those soldiers, who are the subjects of 
the resolution of congress of the 15th May, 1778. To there- 
presentation now made, the army have not a doubt that con- 
gress will pay all that attention, which the serious nature of it 
requires. It would be criminal in the officers to conceal the 
general dissatisfaftion which prevails, and is gaining ground in 
the army, from the pressure of evils and injuries, which, in the 
fpurse of seven long years, have made their condition, in many 



APPENDIX. C^- 

instances, -wretched. They therefore entreat, that congress, 
to convince the army and the world, that the independence of 
America shall not be placed on the ruin of any particular class 
of her citizens, will point out a mode of immediate redress. 

H. Knox, major-genera!^ "J 

John Patterson, brigadier-general,] on the part oft be 

J. Greaton, colonel, J> Massachusetts 

John Crane, colonel, J line. 

H. Maxwell, lieutenant-colonel, J 

J. Huntington, brigadier-genet aL-s 

H. Swift, colonel. Ion the part of the 

Samuel B. Webb, colonel, l" Connecticut line, 

E. Huntington, lieutenant-colonel, J 

^ „ , , con the part of the New, York 

F. Cortlandt, colonel, i ,. 

I line. 

_ - _ ^ . C on the part of 

John N. Gumming s, heutenant-colonel, < tb \' f I 

' ^,- „ . (ontbepartoftbeNenv-Hamp- 

William Scott, maior, -J , . ,. 

C sbire line. 

-Mr -c- 7 . T Con the part of tbe gene- 

W. EusTis, bosp:tal.surgeon, ^ ^^^ ^^^^.^^^^ 

Moses Hazen, brigadier-general, 

Castonments, Hudson's RiyER,~> 
December, 1782, 3 



UXfRACf or A LEl'TER FROM HIS EXCELLENCT CEUBRAL WaSN* 
JNGfOlf, T'O THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS, DATED HEAD' 
SlUARTERS, MARCH 12, 1783. 



" TT is with Inexpressible concern I make the following report- 
X to your excellency : — Two days ago, anonymous papers 
were circulated in the army, requesting a general meeting of the- 
officers on the next day, A copy of one of tljese papers is 
enclosed, No. 1. 



64 APPENDIX. 

" About the same time another anonymous paper, purport- 
ing to be an address to the officers of the army, was handed 
about in a clandestine manner. A copy of this is marked No. 2. 

" To prevent any precipitate and dangerous resolutions from 
being taken at this perilous moment, while the passions were 
all inflamed ; as soon as these things came to my knowledge, 
the next morning, I issued the enclosed order, No. 3 — and in 
this situation the matter now rests. 

" Since writing the foregoing, another anonymous paper has 
been put in circulation, a copy of which is enclosed, No. 4, 



(No. 1, referred to in the foregoing paper.") 

MEETING of the general and field officers is requested at 
the public building, on Tuesday next, at 1 1 o'clock. A 
comiuissioned officer from each company is expeded, and a de- 
legate from the medical staff. The objed of this convention 
is, to consider the late letter from our representatives in Phila- 
delphia, and what measures (if any) should be adopted, to ob- 
tain that redress of grievances which they seem to have soli- 
cited in vain. [Anonymous.] 



(No. 2.) 
TO THE OFFICERS OF THE ARMY. 

GENTLEMEN, 

FELLOW-SOLDIER, whose interest and affeftions bind 
him strongly to you, whose past sufferings have been as 
great, and whose future fortune may be as desperate as yours — 



APPENDIX. 65 

Ipould beg leave to address you. Age has its claims, and rank 
is not without its pretensions to advise : but, though unsupported 
by both, he flatters himself, that the plain language of since- 
rity and experience Avill neither be unheard nor unregarded. — 
Like many of you, he loved private life, and left it with regret. 
He left it, determined to retire, from the field, with the neces- 
sity that called him to it, and not 'till then — not 'till the ene*- 
mies of his country, the slaves of power, and the hirelings of 
injustice, were compelled to abandon their schemes, and acknow- 
ledge America as terrible in arms as she had been humble in 
remonstrance. With this objed. in view, he has long shared in. 
your toils, and mingled in your dangers. — He has felt the cold 
hand of poverty without a murmur, and has seen the insolence 
of wealth without a sigh. — But, too much under the direction 
of his wishes, and sometimes weak enough to mistake desire 
for opinion, he has 'till lately — very lately, believed in the justice 
of his country. He hoped, that as the clouds of adversity scat- 
tered, and as the sunshine of peace and better fortune broke in 
upon us, the coldness and severity of government would relax, 
and that, more than justice, that gratitude would blaze forth 
upon those hands, which had upheld her, in the darkest stages 
of her passage ; from impending servitude to acknowledged inde- 
pendence. But faith has its limits, as well as temper, and there 
are points, beyond which neither can be stretched, without sink- 
ing into cowardice, or plunging into credulity. — This, my friends, 
I conceive to be your situation. Hurried to the very verge of 
both, another step would ruin you forever. — To be tame and un- 
provoked when injuries press hard upon you, is more than weak- 
ness ; but to look up for kinder usage, without one manlj'' ef- 
fort of your own, would fix your charafter, and shew the world 
how richly you deserve those chains you broke. To guard against 
this evil, let us take a review cf the ground upon which we 
now stand, and from thence carry our thoughts forward for a 
moment, into the unexplored field of expedient. 

After a pursuit of seven long years, the objeft for which 
we set out is at length brought within our reach! — Yes, my 
friends, that suffering courage of yours, was adlive once — it 
has conduded the United States of America through a doubt- 

I 



66 A P P E N D I X. 

ful and a bloody war 1 It has placed her in the chair of inde- 
pendency, and peace returns again to bless— ■whom ? A coun- 
try willing to redress your wrongs, cherish your worth and re- 
ward your services ; a country courting your return to private 
life, with tears of gratitude, and smiles of admiration ; long- 
ing to divide with you that independency which your gallantry 
has given, and those riches which your wounds have preserved ! 
Is this the case ? or is it rather, a country that tramples upon 
your rights, disdains your cries and insults your distresses ? 
Have you not, more than once, suggested your wishes, and 
made known your wants to congress ? Wants and wishes which 
gratitude and policy should have anticipated, rather than evaded. 
And have you not lately, in the meek language of entreating 
memorial, begged from their justice, what you would no longer 
expert from their favor ? How have you been answered ? Let 
the letter Avhich you are called to consider to-morrow make 
reply. 

If this, then, be your ti'eatment, while the swords you wear 
are necessary for the defence of America, what have you to ex- 
peft from peace, when your voice shall sink, and your strength 
dissipate by division ? 

When these very swords, the instruments and companions of 
your glory, shall be taken from your sides, and no remaining 
mark of military distinflicn left, but your wants, infirmities 
and scars ! Can you then consent to be the only sufferers by this 
revolution, and retiring from the field, grow old in poverty, 
wretchedness and contempt ? Can you consent to wade through 
the vile mire of dependency, and owe the miserable remnant of 
that life to charity, which has hitherto been spent in honor !— 
If you can, go — and carry with you the jest of tories and the 
the scorn of whigs — the ridicule, and what is worse, the pitf 
of the world Go, starve, and be forgotten ! But if your spi- 
rit should revolt at this ; if you have sense enough to discover, 
and spirit enough to oppose tyranny undei whatever garb it may 
assume ; whether it be the plain coat of republicanism, or the 
splendid robe of royalty : if you have yet learned to discrimi- 
nate between a people and a cause, between men and princi- 



APPENDIX. 67 

pies — awake i — attend to yonr situation and redress yourselves. 
If the present moment be lost, every future effort is in vain ; 
and ycur threats then will \>s as empty as your entreaties now. 
I would advise you, therefore, to come to some final opinion, 
upon what you can bear, and what you will suffer. 1\ your 
determination be in any proportion to your wrongs, cany your 
appeal from the justice to the fears of government-^chr.nge 
the milk and water style of your last memorial ; assume a 
bolder tone — decent, but lively — spirited and determined ; and 
suspe£l the man who would advise to more moderation and 
longer forbearance. Let two or three men, who can feel as 
well as write, be appointed to draw up your last remonstrance ; 
for I would no longer give it the sueing, soft, unsuccessful epi- 
thet of memorial. Let it be represented (in language that will 
neither dishonor you by its rudeness, nor betray you by its fears) 
what has been promised by congress, and what has been per- 
formed — how long and how patiently you have suflered ; how 
little you have asked, and how much of that little has been de- 
nied. Tell them that though you were the first, and would wish 
to be the last, to encounter danger ; though despair itself cau 
never drive you into dishonorj it may drive you from the field t 
that the wound often irritated, and never healed, may at length 
become incurable ; and that the slightest mark of indignity 
from congress now, must operate like the grave, and part you 
forever : that in any political event, the army has its alterna- 
tive. If peace, that nothing shall separate you from your arms 
but death : if ivar, that courting the auspices and inviting the 
dire£lions of your illustrious leader, you will retire to some un- 
settled country, smile in your turn, and " mock when their fear 
Cometh on." But let it represent also, that should they com- 
ply with the request of your late memorial, it would make you 
more happy, and tbem more respeftable : that while the war 
should continue, you would follow their standard into the field — 
and when it came to an end, you would withdraw into the shade 
of private life, and give the world another subjecl of wonder 
and applause : — an army victorious aver iis eneinies—-'aictorious 
ever itidf. (;Akonymous.] 



68 APPENDIX. 



(No. 30 

GENERAL ORDERS. 

HEjiD'OUAiii'ERS, March 11, 1783. 

THE commander in chief having heard that a general meet- 
ing of the officers of the army was proposed to be held 
at the new building, in an anonymous paper, which was circu- 
lated yesterday by some unknown person, conceives, although 
he is fully persuaded that the good sense of the officers would in- 
duce them to pay very little attention to such an irregular invi- 
tation, his duly as well as the reputation and true interest of 
the army, requires his disapprobation of such disorderly pro- 
ceedings. At the same time he requests the general and field 
officers, with one officer from each company, and a proper re- 
presentative from the staff of the army, will assemble at 12 
o'clock on Saturday next, at the new building, to hear the re- 
port of the committee of the army to congress. After mature 
deliberation, they will devise what farther measures ought to 
be adopted as most rational and best calculated to attain the just 
and important obje£l in view. The senior officer in rank pre- 
sent will be pleased to preside, and report the result of their de- 
liberations to the commander in chief. 



(No. 4.) 
TO THE OFFICERS OF THE ARMY. 

GENTLEMEN, 

fTI'^'HE author of a late address, anxious to deserve, though 
A he should fail to engage, your esteem ; and determined 
at every risk to unfold your duty and discharge his own, woi Id 
beg leave to solicit the further indulgence of a few moments 
sitteution. 



APPENDIX. €« 

Aware of the coyness with which his last letter would be 
received, he feels himself neither disappointed nor displeased 
With the caution it has met. He well knew that it spoke a lan- 
guage which, 'till now, had been heard only in whispers, and 
that it contained some sentiments which confidence itself would 
have breathed with distrust. But their lives have been short, 
qnd their observations imperfecl indeed, who have yet to learn, 
that alarms may be false ; that the best designs are sometimes 
obliged to assume the worst aspedl ; and that, however synoni- 
mous surprize and disaster may be in militaiy phrase, in moral 
and political meaning, they convey ideas as different as they are 
dlstiuft. Suspicion, detestable as it is in private life, is the 
loveliest trait of political charafter. It prompts you to en- 
quiry, bars the door against design, and opens every avenue to 
truth. It was the first to oppose a tyrant here, and still stands 
centinel over the liberties of America. With this belief it 
would illy become me to stifle the voice of this honest guar- 
dian — a guardian who, authorised by circumstances digested 
into proof, has herself given birth to the address you have read, 
and now goes forth among you with a request to all, that it 
may be treated fairly ; that it may be considered before it be 
abused, and condemned before it be tortured ; convinced that, 
in a search after error, truth will appear ; that apathy itself 
will grow warm in the pursuit, and though it will be the last to 
adopt her advice, it will be the first to adil upon it. 

The general orders of yesterday, which the weak may mis- 
take for disapprobation, and the designing dare to represent as 
such, wears, in my opinion, a very different complexion, and car- 
ries with it a very opposite tendency. 'Till now, the com- 
mander in chief has regarded the steps you have taken for re- 
dress with good wishes alone. His ostensible silence has autho- 
rized your meetings, and his private opinion has sandlified your 
claims. Had he disliked the objed in view, would not the same 
sense of duty which forbad you from meeting on the third day 
of the week, have forbidden you from meeting on the seventh ? 
Is not the same subjed held up for your discussion ? And has 
it not passed the seal of ofRce, and taken all the solemnity of 
an order ? This will give system to your proceedings, and sta- 



ro APPENDIX. 

bility to vour resolves. It -vvi!] riper, speculation into fa(fl. ; ar.d, 
■while it adds to the unanimity, it cannot possibly lessen the in- 
dependency of your sentiments. It may be necessary to add 
upon this subjec!:!;, that, from the injundlion with which the ge- 
neral oiders close, every man is at libtrty to conclude that tlie re- 
port to be made to head-quarters is intended for congress. Hence 
■will arise another motive for that energy which has been recom- 
n'iended : for, can ycu give the lie to the pathetic description of 
your representations, and the more alarming predictions of your 
friends ? To such as make a want cf signature an objeftion to 
opinion, I reply, that it matters very little who is the author of 
sentiments which grow out of your feelings, and apply to your 
wants ; tha.t in this instance diffidence suggested what ex- 
perience enjoins ; and that while I continue to move on the high 
road of argument and advice, which is open to all, I shall con- 
tinue to be the sole confident of my own secret. But, should 
the time come, when it shall be necessary to depart from this 
genera] line, and hold up any individual among you as an objefl 
of the resentment or contempt of the rest, I thus publicly pledge 
nry honor as a soldier, and veracity as a man, that I will then 
assmne a visible existence, and give my name to the army, with 
as little reserve as I now give my opinions. 

[Akonyjious.} 



C'JNtONMENr, ]5tb March, 1783. 

7'be officers of the aviny being convened, agreeably to a general 
order of the 1 \tb instant, the bonorable major-general GjTes, 
presid.nt, bis excellency the commander in chief was pleased 
to address the meeting as foUoius — 

GENTLEMEN') 

Y ?n anonymous summons, an attempt has been made to 
l3 convene you together. How inconsistent with the rules 
of propriety, how unrailitary, and hoAV subversive of all order 
and discipline, let the gQod sense of the army decide. 



APPENDIX. 71 

In the moment of this summons, another anonymous produc- 
tion was sent into circulation, addressed more to the feelings 
and passions than to the reason and judgment of the army. 
The author of the piece is entitled to much credit for the good-. 
ness of his pen ; and I could wish he had as much credit for 
the reiSlitude of his heart ; for, as men see through different op- 
tics, and are induced, by the refleiEiing faculties of the mind, 
to use different means to attain the same end, the author of the 
address should have had more charity than to mark for suspi- 
cion, the man who should recommend moderation and longer 
forbearance ; or, in other words, who should not think as he 
thinks, and adl as he advises* But he had another plan in view, 
in which candor and liberality of sentiment, regard to justice 
and love of country, have no part : and he was right to insi- 
nuate the darkest suspicion to efftft the blackest design, 'j'hat 
the address is drawn with great art, and is designed to answer 
the most insidious purposes ; tliat it is calculated to impress the 
mind with an idea of premeditated irijustice in the sovereign 
power of the United States, and rouse all those reseniments 
which must unavoidably flow from such a belief; that the se- 
cret mover of this scheme, whoever he may be, intended to take 
advantage of the passions, while they were warmed by the re- 
colledlion of past distresses, without giving time for cool, deli- 
berate thinking, and that composure of mind which is so neces- 
sary to give dignity and stability to measures, is rendered too 
obvious, by the mode of condudling the business, to need other 
proof than a reference to the proceeding. Thus much, gentle- 
men, I have thought it incumbent on me to observe to you, 
to shew upon what principles I opposed the irregular and hasty 
m.eeting which was proposed to have been held on Tuesday hist, 
and not bec2.use I wanted a disposition to give you every op- 
portunity, consistent with your own honor, and the dignity of 
the army, to make known your grievances. If my conduct 
heretofore has not evinced to you, that I have been a faithful 
friend to the army, my declaration of it at this time would be 
equally unavailing and improper. Ent as I was among the first 
who embarked in the cause of our common country ; as I have 
never left your side one moment, but when called from you oa 
public duty ; as I have been the constant companion and wit- 



72 APPENDIX. 

ness cf your distresses, and not among the last to feel and ac- 
knowledge your merits ; as I have ever considered my own mi- 
litary reputation as inseparably connected with that of the army ; 
as my heart has ever expanded with joy when I have heard its 
praises, and my indignation has arisen when the mouth of de- 
tradlidn has been opened against it, it can scarcely be supposed, 
at this late stage cf the war, that I am indifferent to its inter- 
ests. But how are they to be promoted ? The way is plain, 
says the anonymous addresser. If war continues, remove into 
the unsettled country ; there establish yourselves, and leave an 
ungrateful country to defend itself. But who are they to de- 
feud ? Our wives, our children, our farms and other property, 
which we leave behind us ! Or, in this state of hostile separa- 
tion, are we to take the two first, (the latter cannot be re- 
moved) to perish in a wilderness with hunger, cold and naked- 
ness ? If peace takes place, never sheath your sw'ords, says 
he, until you have obtained full and ample justice. This 
dreadful alternative cf either deserting our country in the ex» 
tremest hour of her distress, or turning our arms against it, 
which is the apparent objeft, unless congress can be compelled 
into instant compliance, has something so shocking in it, that 
humanity revolts at the idea. My God ! what can this writer 
have in view, by recommending such measures ? Can he be a 
friend to the army ? Can he be a friend to this country ? Ra- 
ther is he not an insidious foe ? some emissary, perhaps, from 
New-York, plotting the ruin of both, by sowing the seeds of 
discord and separation between the civil and military powers of 
the continent ? And what a compliment docs he pay to our un- 
derstandings, when he recommends measures, in either alterna- 
tive, impradlicable in their nature ? But, here, gentlemen, I 
will drop the curtain, because, it v/ould be as Imprudent in me 
to assign my reasons for this opinion, as it would be insulting 
to your conception to suppose you stood in need of them. A 
moment's refleilion will convince every dispassionate mind of 
the physical impossibility of carrying cither proposal into exe- 
cution. There might, gentlemen, be an impropriety in my taking 
notice in this address to you, of an anonymous prcdudlion ;— 
but the manner in which that performance has been introduced 
to the army, the cfftd it was Intended to have, together with 



APPENDIX. rs 

feome other circumstances, will amply justify my observations 
on the tendency of that writing. With respedl to the advice 
given by the author, to suspect the man, who shall recommend 
moderate measures, and longer forbearance, I spurn It, as every 
man who regards that liberty and reveres that justice for which 
■we contend, undoubtedly must ; for, if men are to be precluded 
from offering their sentiments on a matter which may involve 
the most serious and alarming consequences, that can invite the 
consideration of mankind ; reason is of no use to us. The 
freedom of speech, may be taken away, and dumb and silent we 
may be led, like sheep, to the slaughter. I cannot in justice to 
my own belief, and what I have great reason to conceive is the 
intention of congress, conclude this address, without giving it 
as my decided opinion, that that honorable body entertain ex- 
alted sentiments of the services of the army, and from a full 
convi£lion of its merits and sufferings will do it complete jus- 
tice : that their endeavors to discover and establish funds for 
this purpose have been unwearied, and will not cease 'till they 
have succeeded, I have not a doubt. But like all other large bo- 
dies, where there is a variety of different interests to reconcile, 
their determinations are slow. Why then should we distrust 
them ? and in consequence of that distrust, adopt measures 
which may cast a shade over that glory which has been so justly 
acquired, and tarnish the reputation of an army which is cele- 
brated through all Europe for Its fortitude and patriotism ? And 
for what is this done ? To bring the objed we seek nearer ! 
No, most certainly in my opinion, it will cast it at a greater dis- 
tance. For myself, and I take no merit in giving the assurance, 
being induced to it from principles of gratitude, veracity and 
justice ; a grateful sense of the confidence you have ever placed 
in me — a recoUeftlon of the cheerful assistance and prompt obe- 
dience I have experienced from you, under every vicissitude of 
fortune, and the sincere affedlion I feel for an army I have so 
long had the honor to command, will oblige me to declare in 
this public and solemn manner, that in the attainment of com- 
plete justice for all your toils and dangers, and in the gratifi- 
cation of every wish, so far as may be done consistently with 
the great duty I owe my country, and those powers we are bound 
to resped, you may freely command my services to the utmost 

K 



74 APPENDIX. 

extent of my abilities. While I give you these assurances, and 
pledge myself in the most unequivocal manner to exert whate- 
ver ability I am possessed of in your favor, let me entreat you, 
gentlemen, on your part, not to take any measures which, viewed 
in the calm light of reason, Avill lessen the dignity and sully 
the glory you have hitherto maintained. — Let me request you 
to rely on the plighted faith of your country, and place a full 
confidence in the purity of the intentions of congress, that pre- 
vious to your dissolution as an army, they will cause all your 
accounts to be fairly liquidated, as diredled. in the resolutions 
which were published to you two days ago,' and that they will 
adopt the most efFe£lual measures in their power to reader am- 
ple justice to you, for your faithful and meritorious services. 
And let me conjure you in the name of our common country, 
as you value your own sacred honor, as you respedi the rights 
of humanity, and as you regard the military and national cha- 
raiSler of America, to express your utmost horror and detesta- 
tion of the man, who wishes, under any specious pretences, to 
overturn the liberties of our country, and who wickedly at- 
tempts to open the flood-gates of civil discord, and deluge our 
rising empire in blood. 

By thus determining and thus a£ling, you will pursue the 
plain and dire£l road to the attainment of your wishes ; you 
will defeat the insidious designs of our enemies, who are com- 
pelled to resort from open force to secret artifice. You will 
give one more distinguished proof of unexampled patriotism 
and patient virtue, rising superior to the pressure of the most 
complicated sufferings ; and you will, by the dignity of your 
conduA, afford occasion for posterity to say, when speaking of 
the glorious example you have exhibited to mankind — " Had 
this day been wanting, the world had never seen the last stage 
of pcrfedion to which human nature is capable of attaining." 



APPENDIX. 75 

HEAD-^ARTERSy 

NsivBURCHy March IStb, 1783. 

SIR, 

THE result of the proceedings of the grand convention of 
the officers, which I have the honor of enclosing to your 
excellency for the inspeftion of congress, -will, I flatter myself, 
be considered as the last glorious proof of patriotism which could 
have been given by men who aspired to the distindlion of a pa- 
triot army ; and will not only confirm their claim to the justice, 
but will encrease their title to the gratitude of their country. 
Having seen the proceedings on the part of the army tf^rminatc 
with perfect unanimity, and in a manner entirely consonant to 
my wishes ; being impressed with the liveliest sentiments of af- 
fe(Slion for those who have so long, so patiently and so cheer- 
fully suffered and fought under my imaiediate direction ; having 
from motives of justice, duty and gratitude, spontaneously of- 
fered myself as an advocate for their rights ; and having been 
requested to write to your excellency, earnestly entreating the 
most speedy decision of congress upon the subjeAs of the late 
address from the army to that honorable body ; it now only 
remains for me to perform the task I have assumed, and to in- 
tercede in their behalf, as I now do, that the sovereign power 
will be pleased to verify the predi(!lions I have pronounced of, 
and the confidence the army have reposed in the justice of their 
country. And here I humbly conceive it is altogether unneces- 
sary (while I am pleading the cause of an army which have 
done and suffered more than any other army ever did in the de- 
fence of the rights and liberties of human nature) to expatiate 
on their claims to the most ample compensation for their meri- 
torious services, because they are known perfedlly to the whole 
world, and because, (although the topics are inexhaustable) 
enough has already been said on the subject. To prove these as- 
sertions, to evince that my sentiments have ever been uniform, 
and to shew what my ideas of the rewards in question have al- 
ways been, I appeal to the archives of congress, and call on 
those sacred deposites to witness for me. And in order that my 
observations and arguments in favor of a future adequate pro- 
Tisifln for the officers of the army may be brought to remenx^ 



re APPENDIX. 

brance again, nnd considered in a single point of vlev/, ■without 
giving congress the trouble of having recourse to their files, I 
will beg leave to transmit herewith an extra£l from a representa- 
tion made by me to a committee of congress, so long ago as the 
29th of January 1778, and also the transcript of a letter to- 
the president of congress, dated near Pasalc Falls, Odlober 1 1th, 
1780. 

That in the critical and perilous moment when the last men- 
tioned communication was made, there was the utmost danger a 
dissolution of the army would have taken place unless measures 
similar to those recommended had been adopted, will not admit 
a doubt. That the adoption of the resolution granting half 
pay for life has been attended with all the happy consequences 
I had foretold, so far as respefled the good of the service, let 
the astonishing contrast between the state of the army at this 
instant, and at the former period, determine. And that the 
establishment of funds, and security of the payment of all the 
just demands of the army, will be the most certain means of 
preserving the national faith and future tranquillity of this ex- 
tensive continent, is my decided opinion. 

By the preceding remarks it will readily be imagined, that 
instead of retrafting and reprehending (from farther experience 
and refledion) the mode of compensation so strenuously urged 
in the enclosures, I am more and more confirmed in the senti- 
ment, and if in the wrong, suffer me to please myself with the 
grateful delusion. 

For if, besides the simple payment of their wages, a farther 
compensation is not due to the sufferings and sacrifices of the 
officers, then have I been mistaken indeed. If the whole army 
have not merited whatever a grateful people can bestow, then 
have I been beguiled by prejudice, and built opinion on the basis 
of error. If this country should not in the event perform every 
thing which has been requested in the late memorial to congress, 
then will my belief become vain, and the hope that has been ex- 
cited, void of foundation. And if, (as has been suggested for 
the purpose of inflaming their passions) the oiEcers of the army 



APPENDIX. 7t 

are to be tlic only sufferers by this revolution ; *' if retiring from 
the field they are to grow old in poverty, wretchedness and con- 
tempt — if they are to wade through the vile mire of dependency, 
and owe the miserable remnant of that life to charity, which 
has hitherto been spent in honor," then shall I have learned what 
ingratitude is, then shall I have realized a tale which will em- 
bitter every moment of my future life. 

But I am under no such apprehensions : a country rescued 
by their arms from impending ruin, will never leave unpaid the 
debt of gratitude. 

Should any intemperate or improper warmth have mingled 
itself amongst the foregoing observations, I must entreat your 
excellency and congress, it may be attributed to the effusion of 
an honest zeal in the best of causes, and that my peculiar situ- 
ation may be my apology, and I hope I need not on this mo- 
mentous occasion make any new protestations of personal disin- 
terestedness, having ever renounced for myself the idea of pe- 
cuniary reward. The consciousness of having attempted faith- 
fully to discharge my duty, and the approbation of my country, 
•will be a sufficient recompence for my services. 
I have the honor to be, &c. &c. 

G" : WASHINGTON. 

His excellencj the president in congress. 



address of general ivashingfos to concress, on rt^ 
siqning his militasr commission. 

December 23, 1783. 

Mr. PRESIDENT, 

'T^'HE great events on which my resignation depended having 
jL at length taken plnce, I have now the honor of offering 
my sincere congratulaiir.r.s to congress, and of presenting my- 
self before them, to suncnJcr into their Lands the trust com- 



7& APPENDIX. 

jnitted to me, and to claim the indulgence of retiring from the 
aervice of my country. 

Happy in the confirmation of our independence and sove- 
reignty, and pleased with the opportunity afforded the United 
States, of becoming a respectable nation, I resign with satis- 
faction the appointment I accepted with diffidence — a diffidence 
in my abilities to accomplish so arduous a task ; which however 
was superceded by a confidence in the reiSlitude of our cause, 
the support of the supreme power of the Union, and the pa- 
tronage of heaven. 

The successful termination of the war has verified the most 
sanguine expedlatlons ; and my gratitude for the interposition 
of Providence, and the assistance I have received from my coun- 
trymen, encreases with every review of the momentous contest. 

While I repeat my obligations to the army in general, I 
fhould do injustice to my own feelings not to acknowledge, in 
this place, the peculiar services and distinguished merits of the 
gentlemen who have been attached to my person during the 
war. It was impossible the choice of confidential officers to 
compose my family should have been more fortunate. Permit 
me, Sir, to recommend in particular, those who have continued 
in the service to the present moment, as worthy of the favora- 
ble novce and patronage of congress. 

I CONSIDER it an indispenslble duty to close this last a£l of 
my official life by commending the interests of our dearest coun- 
try to the protedion of Almighty God, and those who have the 
superintendance of them to his holy keeping. 

Having now finished the work assigned me, I retire from 
the great theatre of adion, and bidding an affeftionate fare- 
wel to this august body, under whose orders I have so long 
a£ted, I here offer my commissionj aad take my leave of alj 
the employmejits of public lifle. 



SUBSCRIBERS' NAMES. 



BOROUGH of LANCASTER. 



General Daniel Brodhead, 

Matthias Barton, Eri][. 

David R. Barton, 

Chriftopher Brenner, 

John Burg, 

Henry Ben net, 

Andrew Buchannon, Efq» 

John Bradburn, 

James M. Bailey, 

George Briingard, 

George Bryan, Efq. 

John Burniide, 

Jacob Backenftofs, jun. 

Michael Barnitz, 

David G. Cunningham, 

William Cornman, 

John Cunningham, 

Emanuel Carpenter, jun. 

Jacob Demuth, 

Peter Diller, 

Samuel Fahneftock, M. D. 

John Muffer Funk, 

John Frey, 

Williaiii Ferree, 

George Fifher, 

George Filher, jun. 

Peter Getz, 

John GraefF, 

Jacob Graeff, Efq* 

George GraefF, Efq, 

Andrew Graff, Efq. 

Samuel Grubb, 

John Graff, near Lancafter, 

Jacob Grofs, 

Henry Grimier, 

George Glatz, 

George Graff, 

Benjamin Grimier, 

John Hubley, Efq. 

William Henfel, 

Benjamin Wefl Henry, 

Peter Hoofnagle, 



Peter Hoofnagle, Efq. 

Lewis Heck, 

George IJeyd, near LancaRer, 

John M. Hall, 

Wiliiani Hf ury, 

Nathaniel H;inc(h, 

John 'i'. Hint, 

John Hand, 

Jacob Kruj, 

George Karkman, 

John Karch, 

Jacob Lahn, 

Lewis Lauman, 

Major John Light, 

Jacob Long, 

John Leyiey, 

George Lenhard, 

John Lightner, jun. 

Col. Jeremiah Mofher, 

George Moore, M. D. 

Wm. Michael, near Lancafterj 

Charles M'Dowell, 

James M'Cullough, 

William Mufler, 

John Muffer, jun. 

Jonas Metzger, jun. 

George Mefferfmith, 

Michael Pigeon, 

George Rofs, Efq. 

Adam Reigart, fen. Efq, 

Adam Reigart, jun. Efq. 

John Rofs, ECq. 

James Rofs, A. M. 

Michael Rine, Efq, 

Matthias Slough, 

Jacob Shaeffer, 

John Stone, 

Cafper Shaffner, jun 

John Vv^iert, jun. 

Robert Wiiion, 

John Yoft. 

Paul Zaiitzinger, Efq. 



402 



SUBSCRIBERS' NAMES. 



Ann Davis, 
Chriflopher Heager, 
William Kirkpatrick, 
Emanuel Reigart, 



Abraham Henry, 
Laurence Wortman, 
George Henry Keppele, Efq. 
Henry Reigart. 



COUNTY of LANCASTER. 



General Thomas Boude, 

John Bowman, 

John Breckbill, jun. 

Thomas Bailey, 

John Bare, 

John Barr, 

Frederick Baker, 

Edward Biicn, Efq. 

Alexander Eoggs, 

Henry Brenneman, Donegal, 

James Calhoun, 

Abraham Carpenter, Efq, 

Chrlllian Carpenter, jun. Efq. 

Joel Carpenter, 

John Carpenter, 

Henry Carpenter, jun. 

James Crawford, 

James Cochran, 

Major John Cunrod, 

Jofeph Charles, 

Robert Coleman, Efq. 

Samuel Enfminger, Efq. 

JcPaua Evans, 

Thomas Evans, 

John Eckman, Efq. 

Chrirtlan Frick, 

Jofeph GeR, 

Jacob Grofli, 

Henry Bates Grubb, Efq. 

John Huber, 

Henry Hieftand, jun. 

John Houfton, M. D. 

Patrick Harrah, M. D. 

David Herr, 

Robert Henry, 

John Harnaker, Efq. 

Abraham Hoober, 

Jolui Hufton, Efq. 

William Hutchinfon, 

George Haines, Efq. 

John Hart, 

Henry Herr, 

Jonathan Hinkell, 



John Hays, 
John Hentzelman, 
James Hullon, 
Thomas Kerderfcn, 
William HopJcins, 
Maitin Inimel, 
Matthew Irwin, 
Cyrus Jacobs, Efq. 
Emmor Jcffcries, 
Samuel Jacobs, Efq. 
Robert Jenkins, 
Godfrey Klugh, 
ChrJHiian Kaufman, 
Francis Kindig, 
John B. Luckie, 
Adam Litzenberger, 
Joel Lighlner, 
Col. Hugh Long, 
Peter MulTelman, 
John M'Creary, jun. 
David M'Kinfey, 
James Mackey, 
John Morrifon, 
Major James M' Sparrcn, 
William Neal, 
William Pratt, 
John Robinfon, 
John Robertfon, 
Col. Henry Ream, Efq. 
John Roland, 
Frederick Stump, 
Frederick Seegar, Efq, 
Capt. Henry Saiger, 
Jacob Strickler, Efq. 
John Smith, 
John V. Smith, 
Vincent Stubbs 
Jacob Sherer, 
David Scoit, 
Adam Tate, 
David Witmer, Efq. 
Abraham Witmer, 
Daniel V/ltmer, 



SUBSCRIBERS' NAMES. 



Col. John Wrig-ht, 
Ann W.lfon, 
Daniel Buckley, Efq, 
Peter tieiitzel.nan, 
John Kenncy, 
Brice ClaiK, Efq, 



James Wright, 
John Wallis, 
Major Jofeph Lefever, 
John Miller, 
William Thomas. 



PHI LA DEL PHIA. 



Steplien Burrows, 
Major William ArmHrong, 
J. E. Addicks, 
Charles Biddle, Efq. 
J. H. Brinton, Eiq. 
Richard Barrlni^ton, 
Capt. W. Bainbridge, 
George W. Biddle, 
Daniel Bvodhead, jun. 
Jacob Cox, 
Mrs. Heftcr Cox, 
Samuel S. Cooper, 

D. Caldwell, Eiq. 
John R. Coats, Efq. 
Stephen Carmick, Efq. 
John Clifton, jun. 

E. Chandler, 

William Cathcart, M. D. 
William Davidfon, 
David Doyle. A. M. 
Afhbury Dickens, 
Thomas R. Delany, 
Daniel S. Delany, 
N. Davidfon, 

John Dunwoady, 4 copies, 
Jacob Dunn, jun. 
John B. Evans, 
G. Evans, 
Robert Frazer, Efq. 
Walter Franklin, Efq, 
Miers Fiflier, Eiq, 
George W. Field, 
Robert Fielding, 
William Gray,' 
Benjamin Gibbs, jun. 
T. Greaves, 

-W. B. Goldthwait, M, D. 
George Gillafpy, 
Lovelefs Corfu ch, 
William C. Gait, 
James Gallagher, jun. 



E. Flallowel, E{q. 
William Hudfon, 
Thomas W. Hil'zheimer, 
Reading Hov^ell, Efq. 
James B. Harris, Efq. 
John Huffnaj^U-; 
Philip Habacker, 
John Hill, 
James Hartford, 
Fzekiel Hall, 
J. Hardy, 
James Johnfon, 
John Johnfton, 
Conrad Ihrie, 
Hugh Jones, 
Michael Keppele, Efq. 
Stephen Kingfton, Efq. 
W^illiam Lewis, Efq. 
Robert Latimer, 
Benj. R. Morgan, Efq, 
Benj. W. Morris, 
James M'Curah, 
Barnabas M' Shane, 
Col. Francis Meatges, 
Richard Maris, 
Owen Mac Go wen, 
Capt. John M'Collum, 
William Miller, fen. 
Peter Miercken, Efq. 
James Moore, jun. 
William Mott, 
Abraham Morrow, 
John M'Greggor, 
John Maybin, 
Jofeph Miles, 
Richard Peters, Efq. 
Richard Peters, jun. Efq, 
Jonathan Penrofe, Efq. 
Thomas Paffmore, 
Ralph Peters. Efq. 
Henry Pafchall, (county) 



404 



SUBSCRIBERS' NAMES. 



Henry D. Hubley, 

Ji^hn Hh)I, Efq. 

Rev. Jofeph Hutchins, 

John Robins, 

I. Weft, 

Tliomas Jenks, 

Thomas Henefy, 

Robert Hare, Efq. 

Charles W. Hare, Elq; 

Jackfon Hoyle, 

William Biddle, Efq. 

C. Chauncey, Efq, 

Richard Renfnaw, Efq. 

Francis Renfhaw, 

y\nthony T. Boyd, M. D. 

Mackey Brookficld, 

Thomas Bradford, (2 copies) 

John Morris, 

William Ogden, 

CoUlnfon Read, Efq. 

Daniel Roberdeau, Efq. 

"V^/illiam Serjeant, Eiq. 

Charles Swift, Efq. 

Philip Stein, 

Jofeph Strong, M. D. 

John Savage, 

James Stewart, 

Samuel Serach, 

James Simmons, 

Robert Shaw, 

Tames Strawbridgc, 

Andrew Summers, jun. 

George l^ogan, M. D. 



J. Pemberton, 

Zachariah Poulfon, jun. 

General Thomas Prodor, 

W. Trueman, 

St. Rofs, 

James Cole, 

John Peney, 

N. Pryor, Jun. 

Thomas Rofs, Efq, 

Mifs Rachel Robinfon, 

Mrs. Peters, 

MifsLucretia Tod, 

James ThompfOn, 

Cornelius Trimmel, 

James Willcocks, 

John B. Wallace, Efq. 

Jofeph Weim, 

John Whitehead, 

John Whitaker, 

Peter Wager, 

J. H. Watmough, 

Edward Tiiompfon, 

John Tomlinfon, 

Mrs. Ann Thompfon, 

William H. Tod, Efq. 

C. Tatem, 

Jofeph Williams, 

William Warner, 

S. Weilon, 

Thomas Barton Zantzinger, Efq, 

James Afh, Efq. 

George Weed, Gray's Ferry, 



CUMBERLAND C U N T T. 



James Armftrong. M. D. 

William Armor, 

Col. William Alexander, 

Ephraim Blaine, Efq, 

John Carothers, Efq, 

James Clendennon, 

James Duncan, Efq. 

John Delancy, 

Lemuel Guftine, M. D. 

Robert Grayfon, Efq. 

John Hughes, Efq. 

James Hamilton, Efq. 

William Lyon, Efq. 

John Lamb, 

Samuel A. M'Golkry, M. D. 



Samuel Poftlethwaice, Efq. 

Richard Parker, 

Chriftian Shade, 

Nathaniel Weakley, 

Hugh Wilfon, 

John Douglas, 

James M'Cormick, Efq. 

William Cook, 

Thomas Fiflier, 

James Irvin, 

Wilfon M'Clure, Efq. 

Thomas M'Cormick, 

John Montgomery, Efq, 

Hugh Smith. 

Brlce I. S'^rrct. 



SUBSCRIBERS' NAMES. 



40i 



CHESTER COUNTT. 



Ifaac Wayne, efq. 
W. R. Atlee, elii. 
Jcjiiies Croffun, 
William Clingan, efq. 
Jofliua Weaver 
Samuel Downing 
Hunt Downing 
Brinton Walter, 2 copies 
James Dunwondy 
Dennis Wheien, efq. 



Major Jacob Humphrey 
ThomrtS Henderlbn, efq, 
John Humphrey 
Jonathan Hudfon 
AlexHiider Johnfton 
Richard Robinfon 
Thomas Marfliall, 
Joseph Paxfon, jun. 
Ifaac Pennock. 
John McDowell, M. D. 



NO RT HA M pro N COUNTY, 



John Arndt, efq. 
Jacob Abel 
Frederick Gewinner 
John Herller 



Mifs Henrietta Hart 
Samuel Longcope 
Hugh Rofs, efq. 
Maj. W. Dean. 



YORK COUNTY, 



John Clark, efq. 

John Bricn, efq. 

W. Baiber, efq. 

John Forfyth, efq. 

John Fiilier, jun. 

John Greer 

Yoft Herbach, efq. 

George Lewis LelHer, efq. 

George Hay 

Col, Thomas Campbell, 



Jacob Hay 
Abraham Miller 
John Morris, M. D. 
Andrew Rutter 
William Rofs, efq. 
Col. Michael Schmyfer 
John Spangier, M. D. 
Martin Schmyfer 
Philip Youfe. 



FRANKLIN COUNTY. 



Col. Jofeph Armflrong 
Thomas Brown 
Ifaac Caldwell 
George Clark 
George K. Harper 
W. Henderfon 
Col. Patrick Jack 



Robert Johnfton, M. D. 2 copies. 

Robert M'Clenachan 

John M'Clelland 

Samuel Riddle, efq. 

Robert Smith 

Jofeph Schibley 

A. Thompfon. 



WESTMORELAND COUNTY. 



George Armftrong 
Henry Coulter 
^Nicholas Day 
Samuel Dennifton 
Thomas Hamilton 
Vv^'jiliam Johnfton 



David M'Keehan, Efq. 2 copies 

John Irwin 

William Jack, efq. 

James Irwine 

Henry Weaver 

John Young, efq. 



406 



SUBSCRIBERS' NAMES, 



NORTHUMBERLAND C U N T T. 



Epliralm Bonliam 
William P. Bradjr 
David Wiley 
David Ta^gait 
William Willon 
Jonathan Walker, efq. 
Simon Snyder, jun. 
Thomas Stravvbiidge, 
Capt. William Gray 
Bernard Hubley, jun. efq. 
Thomas Hamilton, efq. 
James Lcman 
(>aleb Hopkins 
Charles Hall, efq. 
Robert Irwin 
Andrew Kennedy 



James Cummings 
John Weitzel 

B-njamin T. Young, M. D, 
Chriflopher Dering 
Evan R. Evans, tfq. 
John Frick 
Mifs Eliza White 
Thomas Grant, efq. 
George Shiifler 
Capt. William Spring 
Enoch Smith, efq. 
Daniel Reese 
Alexander M'Donald 
Samuel PvI'Cliatock 
James Mackie 
Alexander Hunter. 



LYCOMING COUNTY, 



John Carfon 
James Davidfon 
John Fleming 
Benjamin Harris 
C. Hufton, efq. 



John Kldd, efq. 
Sebaftian Shade 
Andrew Tulloh, efq. 
John Wall is, efq. 



BEDFORD COUNTY. 



Hugh Barclay, efq. 
Samuel Davidfon, efq, 
James Heydon 
William Proftor, jun. 
WiUiam Reynolds 



David Reiley 
John Scott, efq. 
George Woods, efq, 
Hon. Henry Woods 
Henry Wirtz, jun. efq. 



PITTSBURG. 



William Ayres, efq. 
Alexander Addifon, efq. 
Tarleton Bates, efq. 
Anthony Beelen 
Major Ifaac Craig 
Major Kirkpatrick 
William Chiidy 
Robert Galbraith, efq. 



Ephraim Jones, efq. 
Col. Prefsly Neville 
General Neville 
James O'Hara, efq, 
Hon. James Rofs 
John Woods, efq, 
John Scull. 



U N I NT W N, (Pejin.) 



Samuel King, efq. 
Thomas Hadcn 
John Kennedy 
John Lyon 



General Ephraim Dougla> 
James Morrifon 
Z. Walker. 



SUBSCRIBERS' NAMES. 



sor 



WASHINGTON C U N T T, (Fenn.) 



James Afhbrook 
James AUilon, Jun. 
Ifaiah Blair 
David Bruce 
Parker Campbell, efq. 
John Hoge, eiq, 
J. Jenkiafon, elq. 



Thomas G. JohnUon, efij^, 
William Mcetkirk, efq. 
Jeremiah Nichols, jun. 
J. Pencecort 
John Simonfon, eiq. 
Jofeph Swearingen. 



CINCINNATI, (N. W. T.J 



Col. John Armflronj 
Jacob Burnet 
James Finley 
William Goforth 
Jofeph Hall 
Solomon Sibley 



John Ludlow 

John Reily 

W. C. Schenck 

Arthur St. Glair, jun. efq, 

John Smith. 



CHILLICOTHE, ( N. W. Terr.) 



Reuben Abrams, 
John Anderfon, M. D. 
John Brown, 
Michael Baldwin, 
William Craig, 
Ofmand Crabb, 
John Carlifle, 
William Creighton, 
Jofeph Clark, 
W. R. Dickinfon, 
James Dunlap, 
James Edmiflon, 
Samuel Findley, • 
James Fergufon, jun. 
N. Gregg, 
Jofeph Scot, 
Thomas Harod, 
William Irwin, 
William Keys, 
William Speer, 



Elias Laughlan, 
William Lamb, 
Robert Slaughter, 
John Lyon, efq. 
Henry MafTie, 
Thomas M 'Donald 
Jeremiah M'Lane, 
A. M'Laughlin, 
John M'Coy, 
Willidm Rutledge, 
Elias Reftor, 
Vv''illiam Robinfon, 
George Sinclair, 
Arthur Stewart, 
Edward Tiffin, 
Benjamin Urmfton, 
Thomas Worthington, 
Francis Wells, 
Benjamin Yates. 



jun. 



FREDERICKSBURG, (Virginia.) 



James Adams, 
William Allen, 
Thomas Allen, 
John Alcock, 
Francis F. Brookj 
J. Beufon, 



Richard Johnfton, jun. 
Thomas S. Johnfton, 
Jacob Kuhn, 
John Lewis, 
Robert Lewis, 
Williiim Lovel, 



4t)» 



SUBSCRIBERS' NAMES. 



Antliony Buck, 
] >hn Brownlowe, 
1). 8c James Blair, 

Jnlin Chew, 

Roger Cokharr, 

Alexander Duncan, 

William Drummond, 

Benjamin Day, 

Thomas Daniel, 

FCobert Dykes, 

H. Ellis, 

Edmund Edfington, 

George French, M. D« 

Peter Gordon, 

Thomas Goodwin, 

Timothy Green, 

Bafil Gordon, 

Daniel Henderfon, 

B. H. Hale, 

Edward Hide, 

Gil. Harrow^ 

Jonathan Hazrisj 

Samuel Howard, 

Philip Henfliaw, 

William Jones, 

Richard johnfton, fen. 



Thomas Legg, 
Hugh Mercer, 
John Mortimer, 
George Murray, 
John Newtown, 
Robert Patton, 
Thomas R. Roots, 
William Robertibn, jurt< 
James Rn{sj 
John Rofs, 
Alexander Roe, 
James Smith, 
Wilfon St Swann, 
William S. Stone, 
George H. B. Spooner^ 
John Thone, 
Eliflia Thatcher, 
William Tayler, 
John Taliaferro, M. D. 
Thomas Wallace, 
Bowker Waller, 
Robert Walker, 
William Welfh, 
S. Wincheder, 
Charles Yates. 



STATE OF DELAWARE. 



Paul Alfree, 
Abraliam Brown, 
Maxwell Bines, efq« 
Caleb P. Bennet, 
John Bird, 
John Benret, 
Jeremiah Bowman, 
William Brady, 
John Bael, 
Andrew Barret, efq. 
William Boftick, 
Hon. Richard Baffet, 
Jofeph Burn, efq. 
Elijah Barret, 
Gunning Bedford, efq. 
Harlin Cloud, 
James Campbell, 
William Cooper, 
Thomas Clayton, efq. 
John Clark, elq. 



y\ \ 



William Haughy, efq 
John Hilly ard, 
Peter Jacquett, jun. 
Jolhua Jackfon, 
Peter Jaquett, 
William Johnfton, 
Thomas Jamefon, 
Thomas Kean, 
Ifaac King, 
Henry Latimer, efq. 
John Lockerman, 
James M'Donaugh,, M, D< 
Col. Allen M'Lane, 
French M'MulIen, efq. 
Thomas J. Macomb, efq. 
Nimrod Maxwell, 
Henry Molleflon, 
Jonathan MilJer, 
John Patton, efq, 
Thomas Rumfey, 



SUBSCRIBERS* NAMES. 



409 



George Cummons, 
James Clayton, 
Thomas DufF, jun. 
James Eves, 
Capt. William Fraaerj 
John Fleming) 
Wafhington L. Finney, 
William G. Frazer, efq^. 
John Fifher, efq. 
Ilaac Gibbs, 
Alexander Hervey, 
Charles Hamilton, 



Brinckle Roe, efq. 
James Rogers, 
H. M. Ridgely, efq. 
Gen. Thomas Robinfon, 
Thomas Stockton, efq. 
Ebenezer A. Smith, 
William Steidham, efq. 
James Sykes, 
William Thompfon, efq. 
George Truitt, 
Crefar R. Wilfon, 
Hon. Samuel White. ' 



STATE OF MARYLAND. 



Maj. John Adlum 
Benjamin Briggs, efq. 
Henry Brothers 
Tobias Butler 
John Barr 

Nicholas Brewer, jun. 
Benjamin Blackford 
Jofeph M'GromwelJ 
Francis Deakins 
John Fifcher 
Charles Glover 
John Gib foil 



Griffith Henderfon 
Thomas Johnfton, efq. 
John Rofs Key, Efq. 
James Lingham 
Mrs. Eleanor Murdock 
James M'Coy 
William Marbury 
George Murdock 
William Ritchie 
Samuel Turner, jun, 
John Witmer. 



AW 

W. Burrows 
T. H. Cufhing 
Daniel Carmick 
William Dyer 
Henry Dunlap 
Charles W. Gollborough 
Robert Rankin 
Michael Reynolds 



WASHINGTON C I T T. 



Benjamin Stoddert, efq. 
C. Swann 

William Simmons, efq« 
Thomas Turner 
Abraham Thomas 
James Thompfon 
William Crawford. 



CHARLESTON, (S. C.) 



Gen. William Wafliington 
Jacob Axfon 
Frederick Beard 
John Simmons Bee 
Thomas Campbell Cox 
O. Cromwell 
Robert E. CocbraR 



Jacob Martin 
John Morrel 
James Mank 
J. D. Piircell 
David Ramfay, M.D. 
Francis Robertfon 
Samuel Robertfon 



M 



410 



SUBSCRIBERS' NAMES, 



William Doughty 
Jame3 Tuterall 
Robert Foifters 
Lyon Lee 



Stephen Shrewfbury 
Peter Smith 
Joleph Sable 
Felix Warbey. 



r RU C KE RTO W N, (N. J.) 



Ebenezcr Trucker, efq. 
Samuel Deacon 
Thomas French 
John Forman 
Walter Finney, efq. 
Afa Galkill 



William Grant 
David Hnmphrcyvllle 
David Stone 
Ephraim S. Sawyer 
Cornelius Trimmel 
WilJiam Watfon, efq. 



ARMY AND NAVY of vhe UNITED STATES. 



Gen. James Wilkinfon 

Major Conftant Feeeman 
Jonathan Cafs 

Capt. J. Sterrett 

Campbell Smith 
I. BiufF 
Charles Hyde 
Staats Morris 
Theodore Meminger 
Robert Wefcot 
Daniel Carmick 
Franklin Wharton 
Francis Huger. 

Lieut. Anthony Gale 

N. R. Sheredine 



Lieut. Philip Landais 

George T. Rofs 

Thomas Lee 

W. M'Cleary 

T. Wharton 

W. L. Cooper 

Robert Chamberlain 

Robert Gray 

William Yates 

James Roe Middleton 

D. Newman 

Richard Somers 
William Amory. Off. Marines 
Jofeph Philips, Surgeon 4th reg, 



SCATTERED, 

Jofeph Arthur, Pinegrove Furn. Wm. Harris, efo. Uliffiiii co. P. 
R. AUifon, efq. Huntingdon, P. Wm. Hartniorne, jun. Norfolk 
Z. H. Beatty, Ohio County, V. G. Henderfon, near Winchester 
Jacob Bowman, Brownsville, P. James Ilenderfon, do, 

James Lang, do. Joli" Henderfon, do' 

Wm. Brendle, Harrisburg £. W. Hale, Lfv.'isto'ivn, (P.) 

Henry Orth, efq. do. Edward Williams do. 

Chviftian B^r, Dauphin Co. P. Fred. Lauman, Lexi7igtonK. 



John Moody, do. 



William I/ittle, Williamsburg 



Nathan Beach, efq. Luzerne, P. Gen. Henry Miller, Baltimore 

Maj. Benj. Bartholomew Wm. M'Clellan, efq ^i^wj co. 

General John Bartholomew James Magee, Shippensburg, P. 

Tohn Bever, Georgetown, Ohio. John Shippen, efq. do. 

Jofeph Buet, Somerset, P. David M'Clure do. 

Benjamin Beale, Boston, Mas. John Raum do. 



SUBSCRIBERS* NAMES. 411 

John Curven, Walnut-Hill., P. Dr. G. M'Culloch, Presqii'Isle 

Judali Colt, efq. Erie, P. ]. Msc-phtr{on, East Buffaloe P, 

Th. Cadwallader, efq. 2 copies, Nath. Malfie, N, IV. Territory, 

Rev. J. Doddridge, 5ro3«f CO. r. R. J.Meigs, efq. Marietta 

Philip Doddridge, efq. cio. Robert Oliver do. 

John Elliot, Montgomery CO. P. John Pleini, Wommelsdorf V. 

Thomas Hill, do. Samuel Rex, Heidelburg (P.) 

John P. M'Knight do. John Reiley, Myerstown 

Zebulon Potts, efq. dj. Richard Smith, efq. iTtnii/w^'-^ow 

George Egc, efq. Berks co. P. Jonathan Shufter, Middletoivn 

Paul Feanng, efq. Marietta. Tlio. Sinickfon, efq. N. Jers. 

John Foulk, Trinidad, W. I. Benj. Saxton, Erie, (P.) 

Tho. Fergufon, efq. Centre co. Jacob Schneider, Somerset, P. 

Gen. John Patton, do. Wal. B. Selby, Sbepherdstoivn 

David Whitehill, efq. do David Vance, N. W. Territory 

James Giles, efq. jS?"/Jp-efo«'«,y, Jacob Y\xgtr, Detroit 

David Hoge, efq. Steiibenville, Nich'? Wynkoop, efq. Bucks coi 

/^enas Kimberly, efq. do. John D; Murray, efq. ditto, 



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